Theatre review: Rangaai

Director: Trinetra Tiwari
Cast: Amit Kumar Maurya, Hrishabh Kanti, Khushboo Atre, Trinetra Tiwari
Duration: 75 minutes
Language: Hindi
Rating: 4 stars

Plot: Satya and Vivek are two immigrants in the city who arrive at an under-construction building for a painting job. It is while working here that they realise that they have been trapped, fuelling their thoughts towards their inner-most dreams and desires.

Review: A building is being constructed. The builder, his secretary and other workers perform the aarti to kickstart the work. The secretary – played by Khushbhoo Atre – informs the audience as well as the two immigrant painters Satya and Vivek, that there will be many walls – walls that will require painting.

The workers are happy to take up a job which will help them earn some decent wages. To sustain their growing needs, they request the builder to loan them money, but that comes at a cost. Soon, they are trapped inside the building with no end to their plight. It’s an endless loop that they cannot seem to get out of.

The two painters – played by Amit Kumar Maurya and the director Tiwari himself – are trapped in the under-construction building but they are also trapped in their own world of desires and ambitions. They don’t have big dreams; they are small, simple dreams but now, they seem distant.

There are elements of magic realism which the director weaves in, bringing in a sense of fantasy within the real world of real estate, manual labour and loan sharks. It is this fantasy world that the painters often escape to, and with them, the audience too gets a glimpse of their world and dreams.

The narrative is interspersed with poetry and the Rajasthani folk music by Anadi Nagar adds yet another interesting layer to the proceedings. Tiwari has managed to seamlessly weave together elements of physical and musical theatres with poetry, prose and dialogue. It could have come off as chaotic but the result is a beautiful work of theatre.

All the actors deserve a round of applause for what they bring to the table. Maurya, in particular, displays a vulnerability and innocence that goes far beyond the written word. The set design too needs to be appreciated for the way in which the walls - imaginary and real – suffocate the painters and when needed – become their escape into the fantastical world.

- Deepali Singh