8/19/2019 ToI Bombay Times
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WHAT’S HOT, THE TIMES OF INDIA
8 CULTURE / TV MOVIESFRIDAY 11 MARCH
2016
Mar 11
ane the Virgin — Season 1,Episode 19, 6 pm; Cast: GinaRodriguez,
Andrea Navedo, YaelGrobglas; TV Series/Comedy
The Ellen DeGeneres Show —Season 13, Episode 19,8 pm;Cast: Ellen
DeGeneres,StephenBoss; Comedy/Talk Show
Dumb & Dumber, 9 pm; Cast:Jim Carrey, Jeff
Daniels;Comedy
Mar 12
Marmaduke, 7.15 pm; Cast:Owen Wilson, Judy Greer, Lee
Pace;Comedy
Begin Again, 9 pm; Cast: Keira
Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine;Music
Home Alone 3, 11pm; Cast: Alex D.Linz, Olek Krupa,
RyaKihlstedt;Comedy
Mar 13
Tin Cup, 6.35 pm; Cast: KevinCostner,Rene Russo, Don
Johnson;Rom-com
One FineDay, 9 pm;Cast:MichellePfeiffer,GeorgeClooney,
MaeWhitman;Rom-com
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 11
pm; Cast: Nia Vardalos, JohnCorbett, Michael
Constantine;Rom-com
Pas Son Genre (French) (101mins), Alliance FrançaiseAuditorium,
Marine Lines, Mar14, 6.30 pm; Directed by LucasBelvaux; A young
philosophyteacher is sent to Arras for a year,where he meets
Jennifer, a prettyhair stylist.The two try to overcomethe cultural
and social dividebetween them. Starring: Émilie
Dequenne and others.Gabrielle (French) (102 mins),Alliance
Française Auditorium,Marine Lines, Mar 11, 6.30 pm;Directed by
Louise Archambault; A young woman with Williams syn-drome has
an exceptional musicalgift. Since she met her boyfriendMartin, at
the recreation centrewhere they are choir members,they have been
inseparable.Starring: Gabrielle Marion-Rivardand others.
Dead Man Talking (French) (101mins), Alliance
FrançaiseAuditorium, Marine Lines, Mar15, 6.30 pm; Directed by
Patrick Ridremont; An anonymous criminalis sentenced to death
for murderand is soon to be executed.Starring: Patrick
Ridremont,François Berléand and others.
The Fortress (Documentary)(French) (100 mins), AllianceFrançaise
Auditorium, MarineLines,Mar 16, 6.30 pm; Directedby Fernand Melgar;
People fromRomania, Togo, Georgia, Kosovoand Colombia are running
fromwar, dictatorship, etc., reachSwitzerland after
life-threateningstruggles.
Canadian Animation Films,Alliance Française Auditorium,Marine
Lines, Mar 12, 6.30 pm;
10 short animated films will bescreened.
36 Chowringhee Lane (Hindi,Bengali) (122 mins), LittleTheatre,
NCPA, Nariman Point,Mar 17, 6.30 pm; Directed by
Aparna Sen; Anglo-Indian school-teacher Violet Stoneham
lives alonely life in her single room flatlocated at 36 Chowringhee
Lane inCalcutta. Starring: Jennifer Kendaland others.
Liquid Borders (English) (38mins), Little Theatre, NCPA,Nariman
Point,Mar 11,6.30 pm;Directed by Barnali Ray Shukla;The documentary
explores existinggeographical and political bound-aries of India
and juxtaposes them
with human and spiritual bridges.
Love Comes Lately (German) (86mins),Max Mueller
Bhavan,KalaGhoda, Mar 11,6.30 pm; Directed
by Jan Schütte; Though approach-ing his eighties, Max Kohn
showsno signs of slowing down and pur-sues his love life with
youthfulvigour. Starring: Otto Tausigand others.
Memory Of A Light (English) (26mins), Little Theatre,
NCPA,Nariman Point, Mar 11, 7 pm;
Directed by Sandhya Kumar; Thedocumentary is a visual essay
onnostalgia for the childhood houseand what makes the experience
ofthe first home so unforgettable.
Manon Lescaut (OperaScreening) (188 mins), GodrejDance Theatre,
NCPA, NarimanPoint, Mar 16 and 17, 6 pm;Manon is on her way to a
conventwhen she meets the young studentDes Grieux, who fall in love
andescape to Paris.
Album (Persian) (92 mins),L ittleTheatre, NCPA, Nariman
Point,Mar 12, 2 pm; Directed by RezaHeydarnejad; Amir Dadashi is a
13-year-old student who is greatlyaffected by Pourya, his new
class-mate and the son of an engineer.
[email protected]
Even today, France-basedEnglish theatre directorPeter Brook is
most famously
known for his critically-acclaimed,nine-hour long piece on the
ancientscript Mahabharata, which hestaged more than 30 years
ago. Andrightly so, because it was the firsttime this Indian epic
was presentedon the world stage and as one inter-national newspaper
review stated,‘it (the play) did nothing less thanattempt to
transform Hindu mythinto universalised art, accessibleto any
culture’.
Resting on this laurel, the award-winning director is revisiting
the Mahabharata with the play Battlefield , written
by Jean-ClaudeCarrière. This piece showcases theaftermath of the
Kurukshetra war,fought by the Pandavas andK aur av as. Yu dh is th
ira , wh oemerged victorious in the battle,laments that though
they’ve won,the millions of lives lost makes the
victory feel like a defeat. It talksabout how the tormented
kingstruggles to live with himself, know-ing he was also
responsible forthe devastation.
If you’ve read the Mahabharata,you’ll concur that it’s one
of themost interesting and magnificentepics written, with
innumerablesubplots, fables and tales that comewith their own set
of morals and lifelessons. Battlefield weaves a few
of these in its narratives.
But this play is more of a recitalthan an acting piece. Somehow,
thestories don’t come alive on stage, asthe international treatment
to thenarrative is lacklustre and not dra-matic enough.Also perhaps
becauseaudiences here have been exposed to
this Indian epic in pop culture.Though it does have biblical
shades,you wish the makers had addedsomething new and different
tothe story.
On the positive side, it’s hearten-ing to see an international
cast per-form an Indian mythology, andthere’s some fantastic live
drum-ming too.Also, the play relies verylittle on props or costumes
and a loton imagination. Though it beginson a sombre mood, there
are a fewlight moments, like in the snakestory. Of course, the
humour is mis-placed, but at least it’s entertaining.
A short performance minus anyheavy drama, this is a play
strictlyfor those who want to experienceBrook’s style of
theatre.
[email protected]
She will be performing in Mumbaiafter a gap of a year, and
VaniGanapathy says she can’t contain
her excitement. The danseuse will be pre-senting Dwaaram,
her debut production,for the second time in the city.“It was
2006when I thought of this concept.I discussedthe idea with my
mother (IndubalaGanapathy), but put it in the cold storageafter she
passed away in 2007. It was notuntil 2013 that I decided to bring
it to life onstage, after a friend insisted I revisit the
theme.I collaborated with SathyanarayanaRaju; we worked together
on the choreog-raphy, music, costumes and set. It pre-miered in
Bengaluru, and since then, I’vetaken the production to
Hyderabad,Chennai and Mumbai.I’m looking forwardto present it in
Singapore soon,”she says.
The theatrical dance performance,which is an autobiography of
doors,will bepresented at NCPA on March 17, at 7
pm.“ Dwaaramis a musical dance theatre, buthas kept the
essence of traditionalBharatnatyam intact. It’s not so stylisedthat
the aam janta can’t understand.Therewill be lines in English,
Hindi, Sanskrit,Tamil…,” she says, “The concept revolvesaround
mankind’s journey from the worldof illusion to the spiritual world.
Humanspass through so many doors — literal,spir-itual and even
imaginary ones. We’vewoven the performance with a lot of sto-ries
from mythology, history and eveninstances from human relationships.
Weare all so engulfed in negative emotionslike jealousy that our
mind is blocked. Wehave to cross many doors before we
finallyrealise our inner self.”
So, did it help open any doors for her?“Yes, I realised I
shouldn’t keep my emo-
tions bottled up,” she smiles.While Vani is busy working on the
con-
cept of her next production, her danceschool in Bengaluru is
also keeping heroccupied. And when she isn’t doing any
of these, she spends her time decorating herhome.“I am a house
proud person.I potteraround the house, rearranging artefacts.Till a
few years ago, I used to cook a lot.Now, I enjoy working on my
bonsai,”she reveals. Vani is quite content with herlife. “My hands
are full, doing stage showsand teaching an entire generation
of
youngsters. Dance is my only love; it hasbeen and will always
be,” she signs off.
POOR★ l AVERAGE★★ l GOOD★★★ l VERY GOOD★★★★ l
OUTSTANDING★★★★★
Play: BattlefieldDirector: Peter Brook &
Marie-HélèneEstienneDuration: 65 minutesCast: Carole Karemera,Jared
McNeill,Ery Nzaramba & Sean
O’CallaghanLanguage:EnglishRating:
REVIEW OF THE WEEK
I’ve learnt not to bottle up emotions
SCREENINGS
TV MOVIES
A Fairytale Of Rapunzel (English),Andheri Base, Andheri, Mar 13,
6.30pm; Directed by Rashmi Sharma; A musical drama in a
sing-song dialogueform with comedy and action. Starring:
Vedika Bhandar i, Eshaan Sharma,Reshma Kotian and
others.
A Magical Tale Of Cinderella(English), Canvas Laugh Club,
LowerParel, Mar 12 and Mar 13, 2 pm;Directed by Vishal Asrani; Come
findout,as Cinderella, her mean stepmoth-er,silly stepsisters,
hilarious fairy god-mother and animal friends show youthat nothing
is impossible.
The Vagina Monologues (English),Canvas Laugh Club, Lower
Parel,Mar12 and Mar 13, 6 pm; Directed byMahabanoo Mody-Kotwal and
KaizaadKotwal; This powerful play is an unusu-
al blend of outrageous comedy andheartbreaking drama. It tells
the storyof a woman like you have never heardbefore. Starring:
Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Dolly Thakore and others.
True Ghost Stories (English), TheHive, Khar, Mar 12, 6, 8.30 and
9.30pm; Truth, the quality of being in com-plete accordance with
reality. Reality,being the genuine character of theseoccurrences.
Occurrences imaginative,
but not imaginary.What follow are talesof spectral and
metaphysical phenom-ena. What follows is true. Listen care-fully.
Starring:Akriti Singh.
Battlefield (English), Tata Theatre,NCPA, Nariman Point, Mar 11
and
Mar 12, 7 pm; Directed by Marie-Hélène Estienne and Peter Brook;
A revisit to the great Indian epicMahabharata 30 years
after Brook’slegendary production took world the-atre by s torm.
Starr ing: CaroleK aremera, J ared McNei ll , E ryNzaramba and Sean
O’Callaghan.
Juliet Aur Uska Romeo (Hindi),Marathi Sahitya Sangh
Mandir,Girgaon, Mar 12, 7 pm; Directed by
Aniruddha Khutwad; It is the story ofJuliet — who chose
love at every turn,who refused to let the anger and impul-siveness
of those around her changeher heart, who knew what she wantedand
went for it with all her might —and the story of her Romeo.
Raju Raja Ram Aur Main (Hindi),
Nehru Centre, Worli,Mar 13, 7.15 pm;Directed by Kedar Shinde;
This is aHindi version of the Marathi original,Sahi Re Sahi .
It’s about an industrialistwho catches his second wife red-hand-ed
with her lover. The lover is noneother than his PA! Starring:
SharmanJoshi, Rajesh Bhosale, Rajesh Singhand others.
Shah Ki Kanjari (Hindi), The Hive,Khar, Mar 13, 8.30 and 9.30
pm; Thisis an instance in the life of two women,the wife and the
mistress. Starring:
Akriti Singh.
Toba Tek Singh (Hindi), The Hive,Khar, Mar 12, 6.30 pm; Sadat
HasanManto’s famous short-story is set inpost-1947 when India and
Pakistandecide to exchange their mental asy-lum inmates on
religious basis.Starring: Mohit Sharma.
Krishna Kidding (Hindi/English), TurfClub,Mahalaxmi, Mar 12,2
pm; Lord
Krishna was born on this earth to killthe demonic Kansa. His
many heroictales are told in funny way for kids toenjoy in this
play. Starring: BharatMore, Aakanksha Gade and others.
Jashn-E-Qalam: Premchand,Amritlal Nagar, Phanishwar NathRenu
(Hindustani), The Hive, Khar,Mar 13, 6.30 pm; This celebrates
thegenius of eminent litterateurs with dra-matic readings and
performances oftheir notable works. Starring: AyeshaSingh,Manjeet
Mahipal,Sonal Jha andShashwita Sharma.
Karmnu Kurukshetra (Gujarati), TejpalHall, Gowalia Tank, Mar 13,
7.45 pm;Directed by Mehul Buch; The play prom-ises to shake up your
conscience andmake you question whether one’s fami-ly or one’s
integrity is more important.Starring: Rajendra Butala, Bijal
Mehta,Payal Thakkar and others.
Aapnu To Badhur Golmaal Chhe(Gujarati), Nehru Centre, Worli,
Mar13, 3.30 pm; Directed by Imtiaz Patel;Bhushan’s wife leaves him
because heis unable to buy a house in Mumbai.During that period of
stress, he meetswith accident. His fraud brother-in-lawtries to
encash his accident. Starring:Muni Jha, Jaideep Shah, Pravin
Nayak and others.
Half Ticket (Gujarati), Bhartiya VidyaBhavan’s Auditorium,
Chowpatty, Mar13, 3.30 pm; Directed by Anil Kakde;This is a social
comedy. Starring: BakulThakkar, Manisha Vora, Surya Govleand
others.
Ek Selfie Sajode (Gujarati), YBChavan Auditorium, Nariman
Point,Mar 13, 7.45 pm; Directed by VipulMehta; The play is about a
series ofemotional somersaults between a cou-ple who has been
married for 35 years.Starring: Darshan Jariwala, AlpanaBuch,
Vinayak Ketkar and others.
Code Mantra (Gujarati), Bhaidas Hall,Vile Parle, Mar 13, 4 pm;
Directed byRajesh Joshi; It is an unusual story of acourt martial
case of a young army offi-cer, set against the background of
theIndian Army; it promises to challenge thevery notion of
patriotism. Starring:Pratap Sachdev and Sneha Desai.
Gujjubhai Banya Dabangg (Gujarati),Bhaidas Hall, Vile Parle, Mar
13, 7.45pm; Directed by Siddharth Randeria; Itrevolves around
Jagdish Pandya, who is
constantly nagged by his wife and sonthat he has not achieved
anything in lifeto which he calmly replies that he is
waiting for the right opportunity.Starring: Siddharth Randeria,
Tejal Vyas,Mukund Panchal and others.
Khus Raho Yaar, Life Is Beautiful(Gujarati), Aspee Auditorium,
Malad,Mar 13, 3.45 pm; Directed by Rasik Dave; Two families
are at logger-headswith each other as the son of one familyand the
daughter of the other haveeloped and gottem married. Starring:Dave,
Amit Devatia, Meera Acharyaand others.
Baa Tane Hu Kya Rakhu (Gujarati),Zaverben Sabhagruha,
Ghatkopar,Mar 13,9 pm; Directed by Vipul Mehta;
After her husband’s death, a widow isforced to shuffle
between the two hous-
es of her sons. She finds her happinessdespite the daunting
nature of her twodaughters-in-law. Starring: RohiniHattangadi,
Parag Shah, Tulika PatelThakkar and others.
Khissa Khali Bhapka Bhari (Gujarati),Aspee Auditorium, Malad,
Mar 13,8.45 pm; Directed by Imtiaz Patel; A middle-class man
with decent incomewants to live life with simplicity but hisfamily
is spendthift and causes a chaosin his life. Starring:Vipul
Vithlani,KalyaniThakar,Nilesh Joshi and others.
Pappa Aavaj Hoye Chhe (Gujarati),Prabodhan Thackeray
Auditorium,Borivali, Mar 13, 9 pm; Directed byDharmesh Vyas; This
is the journey of amiddle-class father, who suddenlyrealises that
his son has a dream of hisown... a dream that is way bigger thanhis
own. Starring: Dharmesh Vyas,Chitrak Shah, Neha Pakai and
others.
Ek Anokho Karaar (Gujarati),
Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’s Auditorium,Chowpatty, Mar 13,7.30 pm;
Directedby Viral Rachh; This is a tale of two peo-ple from
different strata of societywhose destiny changes when
theyaccidently meet. Starring: SanjayGoradia and others.
THEATRE STAND-UP COMEDY
Bharatiya Chinta Party, Andheri Base, Andheri,Mar 11,7.30 and 9
pm; A stand-up comedy,sketchand musical parody show.
Best In Stand-Up, Canvas Laugh Club, LowerParel, Mar 11 to Mar
13, 8.30 pm; Watch comics
Angad Singh Ranyal,Manan Desai and Varun
Thakurperform.
Comedy Open Mic Night,The Jeff Goldberg Studio,Bandra, Mar 13, 8
pm; Thisis an open mic evening wherenew and established comedi-ans
will do some kick-assmaterial along with the host,comedienne Jeeya
Sethi.
Open Mic, The Hive, Khar,Mar 14, 8.30 pm; This is Mumbai’s
oldest runningopen mic where you can see new and upcomingcomedians
try out their new and tested material withthe host Rahul
Subramaniam.
Popcorn And Improv Shots, Cuckoo Club,Bandra, Mar 12, 8 pm and
9.30 pm; Catch theexperimental romantic improv comedy or
classicimprov with the city’s best improv group.
Live Stand-Up Comedy,Tap,Andheri,Mar 13,7.30pm; Gaurav Kapoor,
Deep Chhabria and Mikhail
Almeida will perform classic comedy.
Johny Lever Live, Kashinath GhanekarNatyagruha, Thane, Mar 13,
8.30 pm; A modernday Hindi stand-up show in which Lever
incorporatesreferences and observations from all spheres of
life.
The Best In Stand-Up Comedy, Blue Frog,LowerParel, Mar 12, 8.30
pm; An interesting line-up ofcomedians Andy Reghu,Vinay
Sharma, Hijas Moosaand Prathviraj Purohit.
Open Mic Night,Canvas Laugh Club,Lower Parel,Mar 14,8.30
pm; An open mic for budding comedi-ans in the city.
Dear Father (Hindi), Bhaidas Hall,Vile Parle, Mar 12, 8.30
pm;Directed by Dinkar Jani; It delves intothe complexity of
generation gap,dif-ferences of ideologies and the usualmiddle-class
family drama.The storyrevolves around a family with
manylaugh-out-loud moments. Starring:Paresh Rawal, Chetan Dhanani
andMrinmayee Godbole.
The God Of Carnage (English),Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, Mar 11, 7and
9.30 pm; Directed by NadirKhan; Two children have a fight ina park.
One suffers minor injuries.Their parents meet to discuss howto
proceed. They’re only lookingout for the children’s best
inter-ests. At least, that’s how it startsout . S tarr ing: Shernaz
Patel ,
Sohrab Ardeshir and others.
Anything But Love (English), StAndrew’s Auditorium, Bandra,Mar
13, 7.30 pm; Directed by
Vikranth Pawar; A comedy for adultswith cut-throat humour,
blendedwith stilling poignancy. Starring:Mandira Bedi and Samir
Soni.
Parindon Ki Mehfil (Hindustani),Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, Mar 12,
6and 9 pm; Directed by Heeba Shah;Based on the 12th century
Persianpoem Mantaq-ut-Tayr by Fariduddin
Attar, the story documents a per-ilous and exciting
journey undertak-
en by a collection of birds. Starring: Anubha Goel, Anmol
Joshi, ChandanBisht and others.
Unhen Kuch Kehna Hai (Hindi),Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, Mar 15, 6and
9 pm; Directed by Avneesh
Mishra; This play is all about poetry. Actors will present
a number ofpoems to the audience that are writ-ten by great
Hindustani poets.Starring: Manish Tipu, SubrojyotiBarat, Sashi
Chaturvedi and others.
Gadhha Aur Gaddha (Hindi),Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, Mar 13, 5and 8
pm; Directed by NaseeruddinShah; A series is a tribute to
mastersatirist Krishan Chander. The playconsists of selections from
his cele-brated works — Hindi ka Naya Qaida , Ek Gadhe ki
Aatmakatha andhis famous short story Gaddha
(The Hole) . S tarr ing: Danish Husain,Faisal Rashid and
others.
Mera Woh Matlab Nahi Tha(Hindi), Tata Theatre, NCPA,Nariman
Point, Mar 13, 7 pm;Directed by Rakesh Bedi; The play isabout two
lovers Preetam KumarChopra and Hema Roy, who driftedapart for no
apparent reason. Theymeet 35 years later, in the autumnof their
lives and try to discover thetruth behind their separation.
Starring: Anupam Kher,Neena Guptaand Rakesh Bedi.
Dil Ley Ke Dekho(Hindi), Rang ShardaAuditorium, Bandra,M ar 13,
7 pm;Directed by AdityaDubey; The playrevolves around ayoung
doctor, his com-pounder and his beau-ti ful nurse. In theireffort
to make money,
they end up changinghearts and the lives of various characters.
Starring: Salma Sikandar, AdityaDubey, Vikash Singh and others.
Waiting For Naseer( Engl is h/H indi ), B re wbo t,Andheri,Mar
13, 7.30 pm; Directedby Sapan Saran; The play is a cele-bration of
theatre, acting, passion
and l ife i tsel f. Starring: JaminiPathak, Debtosh Darjee
andSiddhesh Shelar.
Irawati’s Gandhari(English/Hindi), Prithvi Theatre,Juhu, Mar 17,
9 pm; Directed bySanjukta Wagh; The play is aretelling of the
entire Mahabharata from Gandhari’s point of view.
The Great Raja Master DramaCompany (Hindi), Prithvi
Theatre,Juhu,Mar 16, 6 and 9 pm; Directed
Avneesh Mishra; This musical isabout Raja Master,who is a
tailor byprofession. However, he notices thatoff-late his tailoring
shop is notdoing too well and in a flash ofinspiration he decides
that TheGreat Raja Master Tailor Companyshould now become The Great
RajaMaster Drama Company.
Jeeya Sethi
Mahabharatawith an international twist
We are so engulfed in
negative emotions that our
mind is blocked. We have to
cross many doors before wefinally realise our inner self
Vani Ganapathy
