Two tales, a bunch of oddballs and Noida stage

The mayor of Rudrapur is murdered and four citizens individually claim to have committed the act.

Detective Billoo

is called upon to solve this mystery. A bunch of teenagers got together over the weekend to solve this mystery on stage at a mall in Sector 18. Karan Arora, the director of the play 'Detective Billoo', said, “Not many in the city have explored the theme of murder mystery with kids as the cast. So I wanted to bring a murder mystery to Noida. Through this play, I have paid a tribute to my favourite mystery authors, including

Agatha Christie

and Aurthur Conan Doyle. The best part about working with kids was that they understood the concept and conflicts very well.” He adds, “Since they are all teenagers, we had to keep the script simple, and not too grim and gory. Getting them together under one roof was another challenge as they were busy with their school projects and homework.”

Ashish Tyagi with Priyanka Maity

Kabir Bhatnagar, who played Detective Billoo, said, “My classmates have already started calling me Detective Billoo. My character had a lot of appeal to him, something which comes naturally to me.” He added, “We are from different schools and hardly knew each other before the play. However, during rehearsals, we quarelled and laughed together and bonded over our love for acting.” Naman Bassi, who played the affluent Mayor, said, “My character is influential and badass, something so strikingly different from what I am in real life. Playing a negative role is exciting as it brings out different shades of one’s personality.”
Madhav Gupta, an audience member and a resident of Sector 93, said, “It is great to see Noida warming up to the idea of kids’

theatre

. It was fun watching adolescents take to stage so confidently. I really liked the background music played between interludes. It added to the experience of watching a murder mystery and kept the audience engaged. From 'Life Is A Bitch' (from the film 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy'!) to jazz notes, the music selection was apt and in sync with the scenes of the play.”

AT WORK: Detective Billoo’s cast members Nritu Luthra, Kabir Bhatnagar and Suhanee Bhogra

Another play, a comedy anthology titled '

The Bawarchi Diaries

', inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s Four Rooms, returned to Noida with newer additions to the script and new faces. The play revolved around a cook, Rajkumari, who goes to different apartments in Ridgewood Estate and encounters a bunch of oddballs who are the residents of this residential society, including a tantrik who worships Mogambo baba, a self-proclaimed god, a high-profile mother-in-law who likes to have Italian cuisine for breakfast, a sadist man who has held his wife captive because she apparently ate away his fruits, and

Dhritarashtra

, Dushasana and Ravana in an urban setup.
Yash Adhana, who played Ravana, said, “Playing a Haryanvi-speaking, modern-age Ravana was a fun experience. The response that we got from Noida was overwhelming.”
Ashish Tyagi, who played Dhritarashtra, said, “Our act of dramatisation of the

Mahabharata

, particularly the enactment of the

Draupadi

cheer haran episode, was a tribute to the classic film

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

. From taking selfies to using a virtual assistant, our characters did it all.”