The dynamics of a relationship between the sexes has always intrigued theatre director Mrityunjay Prabhakar. For this man of the 90s, love and marriage are meant to happen only once. But around him, things were always different. The fast-changing outlook towards life and relationships, he saw, was in fact, more shocking than surprising. Much later, when he began to understand how things functioned between a man and a women, it encouraged him to depict his understanding in the most respectable way for his audiences. And what better way than to stage it through a dramatised presentation, Prabhakar tell us.
Khwahishen, his new play, deals with three people from the present generation, who don’t follow the conventional path in life. They are independent, self-sufficient and secure individuals in their own right. Living in a big city exposes its deep dark secrets, one of the darkest being loneliness. They struggle to find love and a valid expression to their sexuality. They express themselves in a completely liberated manner in which there are no rules and regulations. They do everything to please themselves, but in the end still find themselves lonelier than ever. Finally, they accept the situation and celebrate it. ‘‘Khwahishen is all about love, longing and belonging,’’ says the director, adding, ‘‘I wanted to develop a love triangle, which is often the most problematic aspect of a man-woman relationship. We started the process of direction by first understanding the love a man and woman share since historical times. We also shared our personal experiences and love affairs. It was important to take cognisance of how many times we got attracted towards the opposite sex and just how many times we fell in love,’’ he says.
The conclusion of days of research was that the most important aspects between a man and a woman, according to them, were love, sex, respect and passion. If that materialised, it’s for keeps. “Everybody working on the play got deeply involved in the subject and grew from their positions. Today, we all are much more evolved and I hope my audiences extract the same energy after watching the play,’’ says Prabhakar.
Date May 25
(Today)
Time 7.30 pm
Venue Epicentre, Apparel House, Sector 44, Gurgaon
Duration 90 minutes
Tickets Rs. 350, Rs. 250 and Rs. 150 available at the venue