Tame show by thespians

BUT FOR the fact that Naseeruddin Shah and Paresh Rawal have taken the play seriously enough to do an adapted version of it in Hindi, ``Khel'' would not merit analysis. The now hopelessly outdated English original, ``Sleuth,'' by Antony Shaffer, had enjoyed success as both theatre and cinema. People still recall the excellent onscreen performances of Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier. But that was in 1972. The plot turns on a fast track, with twists and turns ricocheting at strategic moments, sudden changes of moods for the actor to sport with postures and caricatures. There's swift cutting of action and word, and repartee-ridden dialogue to raise mandatory laughs.

The theme is the old one of cuckoldry, where, with diabolic intent, the husband calls the wife's lover to parley. The game then moves through several tricks in two innings. It backfires on both parties.

Even when this sort of well-made, lubricated stuff was in vogue, the play was no masterpiece. It is saying a lot to admit that Shah and Rawal, the only actors on the stage, put some life into this weatherbeaten text at the Madras Music Academy (February 18). The production was brought to Chennai by Shrishti, an all woman welfare organisation working for the under-privileged to raise funds for its causes.

Shah plays husband Jyotindra Jain, a rich successful writer, bitterly conscious that ageing has robbed him of his macho appeal. His affair with Zenobia is partly an attempt to recapture the fires of youth. Extravagant wife Madhu (her idea of simple pleasures is a weekend abroad and bathing in pink champagne) is away in America when he decides to humiliate her lover Manoj Parmar (Paresh Rawal) by first winning his confidence and then frightening him to fits with a wild shooting spree. In the process he pretends to promote Parmar's marriage plans with Madhu, aids him to steal her jewels from his own safe to maintain the lifestyle she craves. (Jain is to collect the insurance money).

Part Two has the lover taking his revenge by conning Jain and reducing him to a coughing, blabbering idiot with threats of pinning murder charges on him. He reviles him for trying to hide his impotence by pursuing a young mistress. But Parmar finds he has pushed the buttons too far. Jain loses all control. Their moves are no longer part of a game...

The script offers plentiful scope for farce, spoof and parody to the obvious relish of the actors. What you object to is the too- perfect timing and the predictability with which the unpredictable occurs. Granted, both actors possess impressive stage presence. And tremendous vocal power. But Rawal has the advantage of freshness. We are are all too conscious of Naseeruddin Shah as Naseeruddin Shah, and, as a viewer observed, Shah too seemed all too conscious of being Naseeruddin.

Sets and lighting, plus the opening music, did not go beyond the tested and tried in the closed box theatres of London. As director, Paresh Rawal had taken no risks. The aim was to entertain, which is fine, except that even this had but partial success on that day.

Apart from their other successes, some of us remember Naseeruddin Shah as the Mahatma in the remarkable stage play, ``Gandhi versus Gandhi'', and Rawal as Patel in the ambitious docufeature ``Sardar''. Couldn't Gandhi and Patel have come together for the first time to more purpose? Theatre buffs could not help wishing that the thespians had chosen a work more challenging to viewers, and to their own tremendous talent, sincerity and skill.

GOWRI RAMNARAYAN

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