Bhubaneswar-based Zain Foundation’s annual play is a part of Bhubaneswar’s cultural calendar and much awaited. This year’s two-act show Purane Chawal, is an adaptation of Neil Simon’s Sunshine Boys that premiered on Broadway in 1972. Director Sumeet Vyas has chosen the name of the play to signify the premium for aged rice grains with probably “chawal” being a metaphor for livelihood.
Purane Chawal is a classic tragicomedy that makes the audience quickly shuffle between roars of laughter and sniffles of sadness. Depicting loneliness amidst recurring news of the death of erstwhile colleagues and sometimes even strains of dementia, the play conveys a strong social message through humour that is marked by spontaneity. Its central theme is the apparent spar between an elderly and has-been comedy duo brilliantly played by the seasoned Kumud Mishra and Shubhrajyoti Barat.
Lured by a lucrative offer they endeavour to come together for a re-enactment of their once-upon-a-time superhit acts. What follows is a string of incidents that take a close look at two distinctive options for ageing. Mishra playing Khushaal Mehendi takes refuge of falsity with his non-existent fan mails and advertising contracts, citing the din and bustle around his Mumbai-based home as his motivation while lazing on a recliner waiting for the weekly visit of his nephew who is also his manager. Living with his daughter in somewhat bucolic Alibag, Vijay Das (VD) played by Barat is a happy man when in the presence of his one-time co-actor whom he can’t stand any more. He is proud of his daughter's car and is contended with the chirping birds he can watch from the room he has for himself.
As sparks fly between the two, the brilliance in the script is what captivates the audience. Its unassuming yet suggestive set is an interplay between the confines of a room and a window that connects the principal characters to the outer world. When the play ends with the dimming lights and the duo seated overlooking the window, they are set to reunite at an old age home in Alibag.
The play comes at a time when India’s demographic profile is rapidly changing with predictions that by 2046 elderly population in the country will have surpassed the population of children. It was more than a happy coincidence that as someone working for an inclusive society for older persons, I watched Purane Chawal and Gajendra Ahire directed film “The Signature” on ZEE5 on two successive evenings. The film directed by Gajendra Ahire takes a heartbreaking look at the challenges including ageism that aged Arvind Pathak brilliantly played by Anupam Kher, navigates the healthcare system and financial struggles to keep his ailing wife alive. Such productions will hopefully bring to notice the issues that our elders face, chief of which is loneliness.
(The writer is co-founder of Silver Age Foundation for Elders)