Kept the adrenaline flowing
RANJANI GOVIND
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Paresh Rawal's `Chaal Baaz,' gave the audience edge-of-the-seat experience.
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PHOTO: S. R. Raghunathan
INTELLIGENTLY HANDLED: "Chaal Baaz"
One would think murder mysteries are difficult subjects that cannot be taken up easily in stage productions. Imagine the constraints in unfolding the story with just one set as the backdrop for the entire play? What happens to the visual element say, for instance, when flashbacks are required? However, even with just one set, Paresh Rawal's `Chaal Baaz,' staged at the Music Academy this past weekend by his Mumbai-based Angikam Productions, crossed the hurdles with some intelligent manipulations in dialogue and entry-and-exit-scenes.
One could see the art of theatrical production take shape with practised ease and the thriller being carried across with professional ιlan. The story revolves round Adenwala, a filmmaker, and Mallika. The couple hate each other — the wife's former flame and thehusband's debt and alcoholism being the contributing factors. His inebriated lifestyle bugs her no-end.
Her husband's Rs. 25-crore insurance cover induces Mallika to try ways to `finish' him. She wants to enjoy the money along with the family's lawyer, Merchant, with whom she is more than just friendly.
In this unhealthy scenario enters a jobseeker, Subhash Sharma ( Paresh Rawal), who saves Adenwala from a gory accident.
Pleased with his gesture and subsequent goodness, the alcoholic appoints him caretaker. In a fit of rage, during another squabble with his wife, Adenwala shoots himself with a gun.
Wanting to make the best of the situation, Subhash offers Mallika `help' to make the suicide look like murder so that they can split the insurance money. Their plans are shattered when Mallika is found murdered. But Subhash is taken aback when he learns that Adenwala has left him all the insurance money.
The sub-characters and the idea of having the corpse in the freezer at home, helped to enhance the audience's anxiety and enrich the storyline. The racy stratagem made for edge-of-the-seat viewing, and the subtle humour amidst the angst, especially Paresh's cryptic dialogue, funny accent and cool-attitude, brought in some lighter moments too.
The realistic acting of Feroze Irani, Manisha Vohra and Ankit Trivedi added to the success of the `comedy thriller for a cause.'
`Chaal Baaz,' after the hits `Khel' and `Naughy@ Forty' by Paresh Rawal, was brought over by Madras Esplanade Round Table-30 in aid of their national project, which aims not only to provide infrastructure to primary schools in rural India but also reach out to over one million children by 2008.
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