Noida’s theatre date with a bunch of oddballs, and Mogambo!

Noidawallahs got a dose of laughter when a comedy titled 'The Bawarchi Diaries', inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s Four Rooms, was staged at a mall in Sector 18 on Saturday. The play revolved around a cook, Rajkumari, who goes to a posh residential society and encounters four oddball characters who are residents of four different apartments. There’s a tantrik who worships Mogambo baba, a godman, a mother-in-law, who likes to have Italian cuisine for breakfast, and a sadist man, who has held his wife captive because she ate away his fruits!

Monica Arora Sharma with Anshu Grover Bhogra
Karan Arora, the director of the play, said, “The play is inspired by Tarantino’s 1995 anthology comedy film, Four Rooms.I saw that film and thought it could very well be adapted in the Indian scenario. We Indians love our domestic help and they play an integral part in our lives. NCR has a great number of couples that are working professionals, so the role of cooks and domestic help becomes more important and the play highlighted all of this. The play is about one of the most common conundrums faced by cooks – what to prepare for lunch or dinner – in most households. It highlighted the importance of being empathetic towards your domestic help and not ill-treating or dehumanising them.”

Ashish Tyagi with Komal Verma during the play
Monica Arora Sharma, who played the cook, shared, “What I liked about this play is that it was full of realism. All of us have our own stories to share about our domestic help. To prepare for this role, I observed the body language, expressions and mannerisms of my maid.”
Anshu Grover Bhogra, who played two characters – a tantrik who is a diehard follower of Momgambo baba and a snooty mother-in-law – said, “I have earlier performed in Delhi and Gurgaon, but this is the first time I performed in Noida. What I liked about Noida audience is that Noidawallahs were far more generous, less critical and non-judgemental and kept laughing and cheering along.”

Shanki Gupta, sutradhaar of the play

Monica Arora Sharma with Shweta Arora