Play review/ Saanp Seedhi



(Pic credit: Aadyam Instagram page)


BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Saanp Seedhi/ Hindi play

Director: Shubrajyoti Barat

Writer: Akarsh Khurana, adapting from Anthony Schaffer's Sleuth

Cast: Kumud Mishra, Sumeet Vyas

Theatre company: D For Drama, for Aadyam's Season 7

Rating: *** 1/2

Almost 45 years ago, while in school, I had watched the 1972 film Sleuth, starring Laurence Olivier as crime fiction author Andrew Wyke and Michael Caine as hairdresser Milo Tindle, his wife Marguerite's lover. I remember it as being heavy on dialogue but gripping and intense. Years later, I saw the 2007 remake, where Michael Caine switches roles to play Andrew and Jude Law comes in as Milo.

Cut to March 2025, and we have the Hindi adaptation Saanp Seedhi, originally written by Anthony Shaffer for the 1970 play and scripted by Akarsh Khurana. Directed by Shubrajyoti Barat, it stars Ķumud Mishra, who plays Ajay Wadhwa, the desi version of Andrew, and Sumeet Vyas as Mayank Tiwari, the local Milo. Marguerite, in an invisible appearance, becomes Kavita Wadhwa.

To give an Indian flavour, the play is now set in Goa, in a bungalow typical of the coastal state. There are other basic changes too, as Ajay Wadhwa is shown as a flashily-dtessed retired maker of C-grade crime movies, and Mayank Tiwari plays an architect. The script is filled with gags aimed at keeping the mood light through the dramatic and complex twists and turns the plot takes. This is where Akarsh Khurana lends his personal touch. However, the lifesized puppet in the room seemed a bit slapstick, though some people in the audience laughed more when it swung into action.

For such a play, it wouldn't be a great idea to reveal too much about the storyline. Let's suffice it to say that it starts with Ajay inviting Mayank over to his place, and offering him a drink. What begins as a casual conversation soon turns out to be a battle of egos, with jealousy and greed taking over. The interaction ping-pongs between funny and serious, friendly and angry, natural and bizarre, ladders and snakes. The sudden developments before the interval and during the climax take the audience by surprise - even if they are familiar with the original Sleuth.

The play is 100 minutes long with an interval. It opened with three packed shows at the Balgandharva Rangmandir in Bandra on March 22 and 23 as part of Aadyam's Season 7. More shows are lined up in New Delhi's Kamani Auditorium on March 29 and 30. It is the latest production of D For Drama, founded in 2012 by Kumud Mishra and Ghanshyam Lalsa. The theatre company is known for productions like Dhumrapaan, Purane Chawal and Patna Ka Superhero.

Though Barat has acted regularly in the past, with roles including Purane Chawal and Dhumrapaan, this is his first play as director. He's handled the cast well, eliciting fabulous performances by Mishra and Vyas. Both actors show a good sense of timing, keeping the interest levels alive.

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