Two To Tango

Two To Tango

If you like your booze cheap and potent, then try Mosambi Narangi. For the non-alcoholic, who can’t choose between Mosambi juice and Narangi juice, why not drink them in combination? The two are inseparable, just like Mosambi Narangi are.

Rajit Kapur and Ajeet Singh Palawat appear as Mosambi and Narangi, in the eponymous drama directed by Mohit Takalkar, for Aadyam theatre festival. The duo play extras on the set of Isaq Banaraswala, a Bollywood movie that is being shot in Banaras. 

The play has been translated from the Irish original — Stones in His Pockets, written by Marie Jones. It’s a Rage Production and for Takalkar, this happens to be the first script that he is directing which he hasn’t chosen.

Takalkar, who has previously collaborated with Aadyam, an Aditya Birla initiative, for Gajab Kahani, says, “The Aadyam team calls for entries for their new season. The artists, directors have to submit their scripts alongwith a proposal. This is followed by feedback and if your script is selected, you have to appear for a meeting, interview and then you are set to do the play. After Gajab Kahani, I wanted to do Mahesh Elkunchwar’s Wada Chirebandi and The Little Prince. That didn’t work out. The script was proposed by Rage Production team comprising Rajit Kapur, Rahul da Cunha and Shernaz Patel. When it was selected by Aadyam, the Rage team asked me to step in as director.”

The first thing that Takalkar did after coming on board was to read the Irish play, and then its Hindi adaptation by Ashok Mishra. His previous works — Chaheta and Main Hoon Yusuf Aur Yeh Mera Bhai — were also translated. What qualities does he look for?

“Every time there are different hook points. Sometimes the characters are interesting and you want to explore the intricacies. Then, there is the way the political viewpoints are handled or the plot is interesting and in that case we decide to work on the characters, mine the text. The hook point for Mosambi Narangi was the adaptation. Ashok Mishra is very well known in the translation space and he is also a very good writer. He has written a lot of stuff for films and since Mosambi Narangi unfolds on a film set, this quality worked. Also, the adaptation was so good, lucid, I found it hard to believe that this isn’t an original Hindi text. It’s so rooted. Mishra is also from Benaras and the play is set in the region,” says Takalkar.

The play is also a two hander, which means only two actors are supposed to play all the characters. “That became an interesting proposition,” says the director, adding, “The play is very fast-moving. For instance, Mosambi changes into another character after a four line dialogue delivery. How were we going to achieve that?  First, we thought we will have elaborate costumes. But that was ruled out. Then, we discussed a few more options, but they too didn’t work out. The crux was that we rely only on actors, their voices, mannerisms, bodies.”

The actors chosen for this task —Rajit and Ajeet Singh Palawat — are simply superb. Takalkar has worked with Rajit earlier, but this is the first time they are working on the stage. And, Ajeet has worked with Takalkar in Gajab Kahani,  Main Hoon Yusuf... Mukkam Dehru Jilla Nagaur and Comrade Kumbhakaran.
 
“The combination of these two actors is quite exciting. They are colourful and they are a pair — that’s why the name Mosambi Narangi. Also, they are the two flavours of a country liquor. It was important for the actors to be comfortable, to have a chemistry and camaraderie. Rajit had seen both Gajab Kahani and Main Hoon Yusuf...but he didn’t know that Ajeet was in them. So for first three days, there was ice breaking. Later they were back slapping, cracking jokes,” he adds.

The play is also going to be a ground-breaker for Takalkar, who is known for his intense work.“Mosambi Narangi unfolds in a light-hearted vein. My work in the past has been intense. So this was a challenge to push me out of my comfort zone. This play too has something significant to say. At the end of the first act, Mosambi Narangi completely flips around. If it was comedy, I wouldn’t have done it,” points out Takalkar. 

ST Reader Service
Mosambi Narangi opens at St Andrews Auditorium, Bandra, Mumbai on Oct 12. Tickets available on Paytm

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