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Journalism of Courage
Barefoot in Mumbai may be an adaptation of Neil Simon8217;s Barefoot in The Park but it offers huge dollops of Mumbai masala, says Nonita Kalra.
All hell has broken loose. Rahul Capoor has stormed out. His wife, Nikki, is in tears and her mother, Anita Mehta, is wandering around wearing nothing more than a bathrobe and slippers 8212; belonging to the eccentric, upstairs neighbour. And yet you are unwilling to turn your back to this apparently unending, domestic chaos.
Instead, you sit securely in your chair, feeling a bit like a Peeping Tom, unable to turn away. Little do you realise that you have played directly in to Hosi Vasunia8217;s hands. This is exactly the effect the director is hoping for from audiences with Barefoot in Mumbai.
An adaptation of the famous Neil Simon play Barefoot in the Park, Vasunia8217;s play substitues New York with Mumbai, adds a dollop of city-specific references and ends up a close cousin of the original rather than a flat adaptation. So muchso, that all the raging, ranting and raving contained in a one-room South Mumbai flat 8212; a studio apartment common to both New York and Mumbai 8212; starts to feel like a slice of everyman8217;s or woman8217;s life.
Barefoot in Mumbai is about a young couple so newly wed that they have yet to unpack their wedding gifts or furniture for that matter. They have shifted to their new apartment and are trying to settle in when they are greeted by a retinue of oddball neighbours. Nikki loves them, Rahul cannot stand them, Anita finds herself having a close encounter with one of them and Sam Kerawalla played by Vasunia ends up sparking off The Row. Post a simple dinner invitation where they go and eat Levti an old Parsi dish and consume vast quantities of arrack. It begins with Anita and Sam pairing up 8212; and deciding to drive to Vashi for a lark 8212; and ends with Nikki cracking Rahul8217;s reserve and demanding a divorce. Of course, it all ends well.
As a matter of fact, for the team of actors as well. The timingof the play is excellent. Even though the cast has been rehearsing only for a month and a half, they work well together. Largely because of Vasunia8217;s style of functioning. While he has adapted the play quot;Devika helped me, it8217;s a combined effort,quot; says Vasunia and is directing it, all the rehearsals have been a team effort. If he forgets to cue someone, one of the other actors pipe up, quot;Move to the left, flank each other on the third line.quot; Not hesitating even when the director is playing the actor.
Barefoot in Mumbai has the same relaxed pace as Rahul da Cunha8217;s I8217;m Not Bajirao. Largely due to the fact that the adaptation is filled with funny one-liners and Mumbai stereotypes. The play will also use Javed Jafferi Mum-bhai8216; and Musu, Musu8216; from Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. It also does not slip into Hinglish to get laughs. The play uses Hindi only once, that too when Nikki speaks to the delivery man.
Again the credit goes to Vasunia for not tampering with a great play.quot;The script was perfect. I saw no need to change it,quot; says he. Hands down the winner here is the playwright. There isn8217;t a single superfluous line, the timing is perfect and the humour timeless. Even a bad cast would find it difficult to ruin the play and here the crew is more than competent. The two-act play has theatre veterans Vasunia and Navaz Hiloowalla, newcomer Sumanto Chattopadhyay Oamp;M Advertising8217;s creative director and Mumbai8217;s theatre8217;s most promising new star Devika Shahani.
Barefoot in the Park is a play that works anywhere 8212; even as a film Simon8217;s script worked largely due to Robert Redford. Just swap New York for Mumbai and Barefoot in Mumbai has all the same qualities. Young couples, quarrels and characters. Big cities have a way of crossing cultural boundaries.
Barefoot in Mumbai at Sophia Auditorium, Sophia College. On July 17 and July 18. Time: 7.30 pm.
