At a time when
Surrogacy
Regulation Bill, 2019 which bans commercial surrogacy has become a topic of huge debate, here comes a
play
written by Naushil Mehta also the writer of Bollywood movies like Kuch Naa Kaho and What’s Your Raashe? that tries to portray the psyche of a surrogate mother.
Directed by
Aditi Desai
, a collage of two experimental plays Leela Lapsi premiered at an intimate performance venue in Ahmedabad recently. While Leela starring
Abhinay Banker and Gaurang
Anand tries to portray the rumblings of a senior citizen’s heart detected with prostate cancer, Pooja Purohit binds the audience with her powerful mono act of Jhamku Patel in Lapsi. The common theme that binds both these plays is the medical sector and healthcare industry and presents characters in a hospital setting.
However, the set at a first glance in Leela doesn’t look specifically like that of a hospital canteen nor Lapsi transports you to a doctor’s cabin. Though minimalistic, the objects and props could have been use d more smartly given it is directed by veteran
theatre
artist Aditi who is known for her larger than life sets and working in a team of dozens of actors. Hopefully, her experimentation and transition to intimate theatre space centric plays with comparatively less actors will bloom in future shows, particularly in terms of improvisation in script of Leela to ensure the narrative doesn’t get monotonous.
For most part Abhinay’s portrayal of 72-year-old bachelor Vallabhdas who is in love with a widow reminds you of his character’s body language and mannerisms from Haji Ek Varta. His passionate imagination of kisses however evoke some laughter just like a fun vibe is added by Gaurang’s flirting personality of Zoravar Singh Rathore not at all restricted by his love marriage but accentuated on seeing nurse Marykutty with whom he is currently infatuated with. His make-up and sun glasses add to his characterisation and one can see his practice in a few dialogues in Malayali as per the demand of the script.
Pooja, a known name in the dance circuit, proves her dramatic mettle in depicting a rural, uneducated woman of Anand in Lapsi who is ready to ‘rent her womb’ to ensure her specially-abled daughter gets admission in a special children school in Vadodara. The same daughter for whom her husband left her leaving her to fend for herself. To know what follows next, you will have to watch this play for the moving edge-of-the-seat performance by Pooja who takes the social
drama
to a whole new level with her accent and dialogue delivery.
Kudos to Aditi for bringing out yet another issue in her attempt to mirror and create awareness on less-talked topics of the society.
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