The Common Man Speaks

Puneet Issar to play a film director in the period musical play Dhappa

May 19, 2022 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

The last time veteran actor Puneet Issar was seen on stage was in his mythological play Mahabharata: The Epic Tale where he played the iconic character of Duryodhan for which he is known.

He will now be seen in a completely different production titled Dhappa in the role of a foreign-returned filmmaker named Shyam.

Written and directed by Akshay Mishra, the play is produced by him and Sharon Chandra for Aum Theatre Mumbai. Chandra is also one of the actors in the play and she will also be performing an eight-minute kathak dance. She is a trained Kathak dancer from Jaipur Gharana. She is originally from Fiji Islands and has worked in numerous plays.

The play also stars Pavitra Sarkar and Anuradha Athlekar.

Dhappa is based in the film industry of Bombay in the 1950s. Kumar is a struggling actor who could never make it big. He is also infamous in the media for his rude and crass behavior. Even though acting was never his choice, he still tried to keep the flame alive only for his sister Iravati, whose ambition of dance could never be a reality.

Along comes Shyam, a foreign-returned director who is going to film his dream project. Shyam soon becomes a friend and confidant to Kumar. Kumar is overjoyed thinking that maybe he will get a chance to prove his mettle as a successful actor. But Shyam has other plans in mind.

Dhappa Hindi play

Speaking about the play and his casting, Issar said in a statement, “It is an utmost delight working with Akshay Mishra and Aum Theatre Mumbai. My role in Dhappa is something that I have never explored but have always yearned for. I remember asking Akshay why he thought of me for the role as I have always played opposite characters. I always wanted to play a soft-spoken character but never got the opportunity. This young team is very close to me and they are my people. I am excited for everyone to see Dhappa and believe me this magnificent play is here to stay!”

As part of this performance, Issar will also be seen giving a monologue titled Patthar Ke Pankh, which was written decades ago by his father Mr Suresh Issar, a noted director and producer.

On how the play came into being, Mishra said, “These two years, I resorted to re-watching some old movies and I was still mesmerized. Movies from the 1950s and 60s are never a one-time watch. The dances, music, costumes, and sets were so endearing. One always looks up to these veterans who have worked tirelessly and given us such invaluable gems. We are forever indebted to their work which gives us a glimpse of a beautiful era gone by. I wanted to recreate some of that time through a play. And Dhappa was born!”

He added, “But it was not an easy feat. I researched a lot on the types of thumris that were played during that era and endeavored to write thumris that resonated with my audience. I was inspired by the thumris sung by Shamshad Begum, Begum Akhtar, Siddheshwari Devi, and many more and tried to recreate a little sprinkle of that golden era that these maestros ruled in. I can’t wait for the audience to hear these beautiful pieces of music.”

Mishra has also written the lyrics for the play, including the thumris. He is famous for his experimental play Nangi Aawazein, based on a short story by Saadat Hasan Manto.

The play will feature live singing from singers, Radha Srivastava, Amit Ranjan Srivastava and Ajit Kumar Srivastava.

Dhappa will be premiered on 18 June at Bandra’s St. Andrews Auditorium at 7 pm.

Filed Under: Plays Tagged With: Dhappa Aum Theatre, Dhappa Hindi natak, Dhappa Hindi play, Dhappa play, Dhappa Puneet Issar, Dhappa Puneet Issar play

Why Kaluwitharana’s stint in ’96 World Cup is overrated

May 4, 2022 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Note: The aim of this article is not to insult or badmouth Romesh Kaluwitharana. This is just an attempt to present some facts and statistics that are generally overlooked when it comes to the 1996 World Cup The 1996 World Cup turned out to be … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Cricket Tagged With: Kaluwitharana 96 World Cup, Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya, Kaluwitharana batting, Kaluwitharana record, Romesh Kaluwitharana 1996 World Cup, Romesh Kaluwitharana stats

Why south films are dominating? Is Bollywood on the decline?

April 26, 2022 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

The last six months, ever since theatres re-opened all across India at the end of last year, have seen some major box office hits in India. The top three of them have been from the south Indian film industry. These include the likes of Pushpa: The … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: 2022 box office, 2022 box office collection Bollywood, Hit films of 2022, Hit films of 2022 Bollywood, KGF 2 box office collection, RRR box office

When Sachin, the bowler, bailed out India in THRILLING situations

April 23, 2022 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Sachin Tendulkar is considered the legend of the game and the best batsman to have played the game. But those who have grown up alongside his career would know that he was an underrated and underused bowler. Tendulkar has had a number of … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Cricket Tagged With: Sachin Tendulkar best bowling, Sachin Tendulkar bowling, Sachin Tendulkar bowling career, Sachin Tendulkar bowling record, Sachin Tendulkar bowling wickets

Political ideologies & caste have divided audiences of Hindi & Marathi cinema  

April 13, 2022 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

Cinema, like other art forms, is celebrated in India. In fact, this has been the most popular medium of art since time immemorial in various languages. It is considered to be a medium that is enjoyed by people in groups of large numbers. In other … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Bollywood, National Tagged With: Jhund caste issue, The Kashmir Files controversies, The Kashmir Files controversy, The Kashmir Files controversy explained, The Kashmir Files news, The Kashmir Files reaction

Meet the 49-year-old test cricket debutant

April 3, 2022 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

The biopic on former IPL (Indian Premier League) and Ranji Trophy player Pravin Tambe released this week titled Kaun Pravin Tambe? The special part about his story is that he made his IPL debut at the age of 41. During this time, it would be … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Cricket Tagged With: James Southerton, James Southerton cricketer career, James Southerton life story, oldest cricket debut, oldest cricket debut England, oldest test cricket debutant

RRR review: SS Rajamouli provides an artistically crafted masala entertainer

March 27, 2022 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Not many films receive the kind of enormous appreciation and humongous box office success like Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017) did. The movie made filmmaker SS Rajamouli a celebrated name across India. Such adulation is generally received only for … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Regional cinema Tagged With: RRR box office, RRR cast, RRR hit or flop, RRR movie review, RRR real story, RRR review

When the umpire denied Shane Warne his 1st test century

March 19, 2022 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

The world lost one of the game’s greatest when Shane Warne untimely passed away earlier this month due to a heart-attack at the age of just 52. He was a legendary leg-spinner who continued to astonish with his sheer skills of getting batsmen out, … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Cricket Tagged With: Shane Warne 99, Shane Warne 99 no ball, Shane Warne batting, Shane Warne highest score, Shane Warne tribute

The Kashmir Files review: Creates an impact despite hiccups

March 12, 2022 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

The genocide of Kashmiri Pandits is one of the darkest chapters in Indian history. Yet, not much has been spoken about it over the decades. We have had only two Hindi films made on the issue before this week – Ashoke Pandit’s Sheen (2004) and Vidhu … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Bollywood Tagged With: Kashmir Files box office, The Kashmir Files budget, The Kashmir Files cast, The Kashmir Files movie review, The Kashmir Files review, The Kashmir Files story

When Geoffrey Boycott had to chew his hat because of Ajay Ratra

March 6, 2022 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Sir Geoffrey Boycott is easily one of the best test batsmen the cricketing world has seen. He played over 100 test matches for England and scored as many as 22 hundreds with an average close to 50. And this came at a time when batting was much … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Cricket Tagged With: Ajay Ratra 115 runs, Ajay Ratra century, Geoff Boycott comments, Geoffrey Boycott commentary, Geoffrey Boycott comments

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