Maro Piyu Gayo Rangoon

Global Gujarati

Mumbai's Gujarati audiences got a play that is totally different from the domestic dramas and comedies that abound on stage, and they rose to encourage and bestow full houses on Sunil Shanbag’s musical Maro Piyu Gayo Rangoon,  based on Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well.

The original, which is lightweight and a bit silly-- considered one of Shakespeare's problem plays-- has been adapted so beautifully by Mihir Bhuta, that it could easily pass off as a play written for the Gujarati stage.  And then, what a line of singer-actors Shanbag has managed to get; add to that lovely costumes (Maxima Basu), melodious music (Uday Mazumdar), simple yet elegant stage design (Nayantara Kotian) and the production syncs perfectly with the taste of the Gujarati audience looking for an enjoyable theatre experience.

Helen/ Heli  (Mansi Parekh), who does all she can to bag the man she loves, is a spirited young woman who is spurred by the challenge thrown at her by the feckless object of her affection—Bertram/Bharatram (Chirag Vora).  Bharatram, encouraged by his wicked friend Parolles/Parvat (Satchit Puranik), dreams of travel, adventure and wealth with the help of his Mumbai-based uncle Seth Gokuldas Gandhi  (Utkarsh Mazumdar).  He leaves behind his kindly mother (Meenal Patel) and Heli in the village.  The latter follows him to Mumbai, wins his hand in marriage, and when he runs off to Rangoon, goes there too, and schemes with Burmese princess Alkini (Nishi Doshi) to fool him. Archan Trivedi as thesutradhar and Laffa bhai, and Ajay Jairam as the Seth’s loyal servant complete the very able cast.  However, it’s Utkarsh Mazumdar who brings a special energy to his scenes, as a sick old man, and later a brook-no-nonsense aristocrat.

Even those who don’t know the Shakespeare play would find the plot simple and predictable, the charm lies in the ebullient staging.  And if a few more plays that break the mould of popular commercial Gujarati plays come up,  it might just help get rid of the TV soap like productions that continue to be offered to audiences, thus ensuring that young people stay away from watching or doing Gujarati plays.