Battle of Wits

Purane Chawal, a sparkling Indian adaptation of the Neil Simon comedy, Sunshine Boys, regaled audiences at the Prithvi Festival in Mumbai

- Alpana Chowdhury

THE stage is bathed in mellow lighting that imparts a warm ambience to a living room where an elderly man is ensconced in a large, well-padded single-seater sofa. Khushaal Mehndi is glued to a cacophonous programme on TV because he has nothing better to do. When the TV goes on the blink, he is helpless. Like most citizens his age, he is not too adept at handling new gizmos, including the sofa which has a leg rest that juts out suddenly if he inadvertently presses a button on its side. The phone on his table is a black landline with which he manages to get small jobs done. The scene is set for Purane Chawal, a sparkling Indian adaptation of the Neil Simon comedy, Sunshine Boys, produced by D for Drama and directed by Sumeet Vyas for the recently concluded Prithvi Festival in Mumbai.

With the always dependable Kumud Mishra and Shubrajyoti Barat playing the lead roles, Purane Chawal is about two actors past their prime. Once, Mehndi and Vijay Das had reigned supreme as comic actors. Their partnership saw them, unfailingly, bring the house down for 42 years. But suddenly, one not so fine day, Vijay Das (known as VD), called it quits. He had had enough of doing the same play, day in and day out. And he thrust his decision on his co-actor without consulting him. It was a betrayal Mehndi never forgave. "He decided to retire and forced retirement upon me as well. I was not ready for retirement," he tells Vicky, his nephew-cum-manager, bitterly. Indeed, becoming a couch potato and surviving on bun-maska and chai are not really Mehndi's cup of tea. Ten years down the line, he is still rearing to go and waits eagerly for the phone to ring, with offers of roles in theatre, cinema or even ads.