'Adrak' play review

Director: Niketan Sharma and

Trinetra Tiwari

Duration: 75 minutes

Cast: Niketan Sharma, Srishti Shrivastava and

Dheer Hira

Language: Hindi

Rating: 3.0/5

Plot: Vikrant and Nischay are siblings who live together along with Vikrant’s girlfriend Anokhi. When things go sour between the couple, the separation puts a different kind of pressure on each character and focuses on the dynamics of the relationship between the trio.

Review: The first thing that strikes you about the play, apart from its restless energy, is that it’s tough to believe that students right out of a drama school, have put it together. Performed by students of Drama School Mumbai, 'Adrak' tells the story of urban relationships, how they are sustained and how they evolve. We have Nischay (Niketan Sharma) as the elder brother who is used to bossing his younger sibling Vikrant (Dheer Hira). The younger brother, on the other hand, has no issues being bossed around, but there is a faint hope, that he, too, can be like his brother some day and live on his own. Nikita, Nischay’s girlfriend, who lives with the brothers, has a different equation with both of them. Like every couple in love, there are ups and downs in their love life as well. But through that, she shares a very sweet equation with the younger brother, Vikrant.

The play largely relies on comedic elements to make its point. Heated arguments between the two brothers have some truly hilarious moments. Both Dheer and Niketan display terrific comic timing. Srishti Shrivastava, too, holds her own and delivers an energised performance in the play. While the play moves fast, it allows you enough time to comprehend what exactly is the intent of each character. Because it tries to tell a lot of the story in its 75 minutes of run-time, it does seem a bit rushed. But at the end, it leaves you with a refreshing taste, just like the herb it’s named after.