'Feel Good' has audience in splits

Raju William<>LUDHIANA: If one assumed that the subtle references to issues like homosexuality and lesbianism might come as a shock to the Ludhiana audience, their response to the English playlets christened as "Feel Good" staged by Sita Raina at Guru Nanak Bhawan here on Sunday evening reflected their changing sensibilities.Organised by the Ludhiana Sanskritik Samagam (LSS), this outrageously funny collection of playlets authored by Nicholas Kharkongar had everybody in splits during the entire course of the performance.Directed by Sita Raina of Prime Time Theatre, Delhi, the play contains diverse scenes from modern life.Relevant, contemporary and imaginatively blended with humour, the playlets included a hilarious confusion of events, like a Sikh gentleman arriving in London and not being able to contact his friends and a teenaged boy trying to involve an older woman in a talk, but is in for rude shock in the end when the women walks away with a young girl instead. Taboos stood shattered when a teenage girl breaks news of her pregnancy to her conservative mother. And till the last playlet exposing publicity-hungry page three people of a metropolitan city, the audience seemed to be asking more from Raina's repertoire of humour.What immediately struck one was the changing social and moral values, particularly related to issues like homosexuality and lesbianism dealt with a tongue-in-cheek manner. But with a mature acceptance of their actuality, these playlets were a spoof on the modern sexual mores, where a subtle courting has given way to blatant mouthing of a non-existent desire.The playlets brought to the fore the artificiality of modern life laced with satirical comments. And this was achieved not only through word play, but with a subtle turn of phrase which had the audience in splits. Raina introduced all this with an enthralling puppet-play. The technique of talking directly to the audience was a refreshingly new one. The director ultimately seemed to be zeroing in on the fact that we take ourselves too seriously. She also seemed to be underlining the need to have "a good laugh not only at others but also at ourselves".In her own words, Raina said that "Feel Good" had been one of the most extraordinary experiences of her life and her personal preference to wit and laughter in any situation, no matter how dire it might be. Echoing similar views, Sunil Kant Munjal, managing director, Hero Group, and the spirit behind the show, remarked that "we Indians are highly opinion ated people who need to look at the lighter side of life".The cast included Yuri, Roshini Chopra, Dhruv Jagasia and Sita Raina herself.