The Delhi audience laughed its heart out this Saturday, when the play '
The Stupid Show
' was staged in the capital. Much like the set-up of '
Comedy Nights With Kapil
',
Kamya Punjabi
and
Rajiv Thakur played a married couple that keeps taking jibes at each other, and
Chandan Prabhakar played a servant who hasn’t been paid his dues by his employer (Rajiv).
Rajiv Thakur, Sejal Sharma, Chandan Prabhakar and Balraj Syal dressed up as Mughal-E-Azam characters to get out of paying rent for a year
Director’s cutWhen we asked Rajiv about why he chose Delhi for the first show of his play, he said, “I belong to north India and I felt that my play should be staged somewhere in the north and in a big city. Delhiites enjoy comedy and appreciated us a lot.”
He added, "Pati patni ke jokes hamesha log samajhte hain, they are always a hit with the Delhi audience. Chandan naukar ke role ke liye bahut suit karta hai, woh naukar jaisa hi dikhta hai."
In the play,
Rajesh Puri played Rajiv and Kamya’s landlord. He asked Rajiv and his family to do a performance of Mughal-E-Azam to get an exemption from paying rent for a year. So, in the second half, the actors dressed up as characters from the iconic film. Chandan played Akbar and Kamya played Jodha. Sejal Sharma, who played the role of Rajiv’s tenant, dressed up as Anarkali for the act and Rajiv played Prince Salim.
Kamya’s theatre debutMany actors like Nawab Shah, Zoa Morani, Kavita Kaushik and Maheck Chahal chose Delhi to make their theatre debut. With 'The Stupid Show', Kamya Punjabi also made her theatre debut in the capital. She told us, “This is my first stint with theatre. Even though I’ve done live shows and performances, doing theatre is something different... I am a super-confident actor, but going on stage gave me the jitters today. I was so nervous. I was asking other actors before my entry on the stage, ‘Koi mere saath rehearsal kar lo please’.”
Archana Puran Singh
Friends show upWe spotted a few guests in the front row who came to cheer for their friends on the stage.
Archana Puran Singh had specially come down to watch the play. When Rajiv introduced her, he said, “Hamaare beech auraton ki
Navjot Singh Sidhu hain.”
The hilarious play ended with a message, though, with a monologue on female foeticide by Rajiv.