New Delhi: Hindi play ‘Bali Aur Shambhu’ was staged by Hindi Rangbhoomi, one of the premier theatre institutions in the national capital, at Muktadhara Auditorium, Gol Market, New Delhi on January 15.
Written by renowned actor and writer Manav Kaul, the play was directed by Delhi’s well-known theatre personality Neelish Deepak.The play tells the story of two elderly men, Bali and Shambhu, who live in an old-age home due to their circumstances. The narrative explores familial, social, and human aspects in a sensitive manner.
The stage lights up to show a room of an old age home where a mentally unstable inmate Shambhu is speaking to his deceased daughter Titli.As the story progresses, it transpires that Shambhu (Neelish Deepak) loves his daughter Titli (Harshita Kapoor) dearly, but she elopes with Shubhankar (Gaurav Kumar). After marrying, Titli returns home to apologize and reconcile with her father but dies in a car accident. However, Subhankar escapes.
Shambhu, heartbroken, leaves his home and moves to the old-age home, where he becomes mentally unstable.
The director of the play, Nilesh Deepak, wo also acted in the play, was once again up to his reputation for telling the story. He did justice to eminent theatre personality Manav Kaul’s play.
Bali (Mukesh Jha), who has been thrown out of his house by his family, arrives at the old-age home. Initially, Bali and Shambhu do not get along, but gradually, they become friends, sharing their life’s sorrows and bringing joy to each other.
The play takes a dramatic turn when Shambhu passes away suddenly, and Shubhankar arrives to meet him after two years. Dr. Jhilmil (Sanya Raj) leaves Bali in charge of handling the situation.
In the climax, on the way to the old-age home, Goutam (Krishna Rajput), a servant of the old-age home, tells Shubhankar about the demise of Sambhu. Yet, Subhankar, who has been cursing himself for the death of Titli and is filled with remorse, takes out his emotional feelings on Bali as if he was talking to Sambhu.
The play poignantly portrays the emotions of elderly people living in old-age homes and serves as a social commentary. It highlights the neglect and disregard faced by the elderly in today’s society, where nuclear families and social media dominate.
Neelish Deepak delivered a powerful performance as Shambhu, evoking emotions in the audience. Mukesh Jha, as Bali, brought a lively and impactful character to the stage. The supporting cast, including Harshita Kapoor, Sanya Raj, Krishna Rajput, and Gaurav Kumar, delivered strong performances.
The success of the play was evident from the fact that the theatre lovers were seen glued to their seats till the last scene of the play.
And, the lighting by Divyang Srivastava and the music by Chirag Jain contributed a lot to the success of the play.
Hindi Rangbhoomi was established in 2016 and has since been staging plays at prestigious festivals across the nation.
