‘Taking offence has become routine’
With great power comes great responsibility. Theatre actor Dhruv Shetty realised this when he was asked to fill the shoes of a legend through his latest character of Dan Vir Singh Yadav. Played once by his grandfather in comic satire Let’s Laugh Again, late theatre thespian Gopal Sharman, Shetty is ready to put the jitters behind him and do justice to the much-loved character of Yadav.
To be staged as an election special by Akshara Theatre, they play debuted in 1977 during the Emergency when it ran for six months, a feat Shetty feels cannot be accomplished today. “The political environment is volatile and intolerant today. People have forgotten to laugh at themselves. Taking offence has become routine. So while this presentation ran full house for six months back then, I cannot imagine the same today,” he says. This is also the reason why, he feels, it has become important to show comedies more often. “We all have opinions and judgements about politicians. Sometimes it is just good to sit back and have a light-hearted engagement without getting serious. Let’s Laugh Again is not preachy or moralistic. It is simply comedy,” Shetty shares.
Meanwhile, the script for the satire has been revised to suit the topicality of the time. Snippets have been picked up from news and turned into humorous pieces. For instance, the play mocks the government as it has allowed cows to vote. So when a cow is asked which party she wants to vote via a voice app, she goes Moooo……(di). In another scene, politician Azam Khan’s son calling Jaya Prada Anarkali has been comically commented upon.
There is a huge divide between politics and people Shetty feels. “My mother tells me stories of when, as a child, she would attend the darbars (public meetings) helmed by the Prime Minister. If you managed to catch his eye you could even raise a concern or ask him a question. Now it’s unthinkable,” he says.
To dispel the sombre mood surrounding politics and elections, Let’s Laugh Again will be staged on May 26, at 7.30 pm, Akshara Theatre, 11B, Baba Kharak Singh Marg.