Way to go, Rangeen Sapney!

So, finally, I did have my first brush with Hyderabad’s theater circuit yesterday. Being a playwright, I was always curious about the theater scene of Hyderabad (the city has practically became my second home since quite some time now). All thanks to Raveesh Motlani, a Data Scientist and my colleague at Microsoft, who is a part of Rangeen Sapney, one of the most important theater groups in Hyderabad headed by Surender Sahil Verma. Apparently, there are some 8 active groups in Hyderabad who predominantly come up with Hindi and English plays – sometimes Telugu ones too.

Rangeen Sapney performed this Hindi satirical play called Andher Nagari Chopat Raja last evening at Apollo Foundation Theater… and I loved it!

The story of Andher Nagari Chopat Raja is well known – it is a classic Hindi play written by Bhartendu Harishchandra; we have studied it in our school textbooks. Surender Sahil Varma, the writer-director and a true ‘rangkarmi’, gave it a contemporary spin and presented it to the enthusiastic audience. It is a laugh riot thanks to fairly competent performances by the actors.

What fascinated me the most is this: they are not full time actors. They are actually professionals working in various companies holding responsible positions who are also passionate about theater. The way they do the jugglery is beautiful. Raveesh Motlani, for example, would wake up at six in the morning, reach to the rehearsal venue at 7, do his bit for two concentrated hours, leave straight to Microsoft campus, do his stuff as a Data Scientist with utmost sincerity, go back home in the evening and again work on his dialogues so that he could come prepared in the rehearsals next morning. Shubhangi Pandey, a very powerful performer who literally stole the show last evening, is a Senior Business Analyst at Novartis. Ditto for all other actors.

This is what you call the magic and madness of theater!

The actors multi-task, stretch their selves and go beyond their defined boundary to create something beautiful and meaningful. Hyderabad may not have as vibrant and throbbing theater scene as Mumbai, but the passion and love for the craft are probably the same. The way these people seem to be managing their professional and creative lives without compromising either is commendable!

Way to go, people! Looking forward to many more such productions!

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– Shishir Ramavat

( Note – This Article is Originaly Written in Year Feb, 2018 )