Slave to your smartphone?

Play: Recharge@99
Director: Rohit Tiwari
Duration: 90 minutes
Cast: Ankit Sharma, Ridhima Bedi, Anurag Thakur and others
Language: Hindi
Rating: ****
If your answer to the headline of this review is yes, you should catch the play Recharge@99. It might seem ludicrous to have a play based entirely on mobiles phones and their connectivity. But theatrewallah Rohit Tiwari attempts this.Like his other production, OCD, which was about a carefree man and his obsessive manservant, Recharge@99 is also a comedy. He once again plays to his strength and presents a wittier and funnier story.
The play talks about an obsession that almost everyone will relate to – the mobile phone. It addresses all our concerns about this wonderful device Whether it’s the addiction to smartphones or the lack of telephone etiquette people are guilty of in today’s world, the play, very subtly, lampoons the use of mobiles. There are three stories; in each people of different generations and social backgrounds face issues, when it comes to mobiles. The first is about a middle-aged woman, who, born in the age of trunk calls, is surviving in this age of touch screens. The next showcases a prospering love story between two youngsters, who profess their love for each other via BBM and WhatsApp messages. The final act is set in a crowded men’s compartment in a Mumbai local train.
Recharge@99 starts off with a strange qawwali, but post that, the play picks on and you are in for an enjoyable ride for the next 90 minutes. Though there are three main acts, even within those episodes, the writer has added little nuggets of interesting anecdotes and information that make the narrative fast-paced. While all the acts are interesting, the final one in the train, is hilarious and probably the best.
Confident performances aside, the strength of this play is clearly its writing. With most theatre groups often sticking to adaptations and borrowed works, Tiwari and his small troupe of artistes have once again written an original script that is worthy of being staged. It is contemporary and relevant in the times that we are living in. Without being preachy and overbearing, it discusses issues we all are aware of, but rarely reflect on – our unhealthy fixation and dependence on mobile phones. Technically, we have become more connected to each other, but we are only getting worse, when it comes to communication and reaching out to others. Highly entertaining, this is a play that will provide you with a few good laughs and may even make you ponder a bit about the message it carries.