The well-known theatre actor-director Khalid Ahmad once said, “There is a very fine line between theatre and stage drama.” I am assuming by theatre, he meant the kind of definitive plays National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) and other production houses stage at the Arts Council and other venues; and by stage drama, he probably meant the dramas cum standup comedy acts that used to happen at the Fleet Club. However, after watching Raheel Khan Lodhi’s Sorry Juliet! Paaro loves Romeo, I discovered a third kind. It’s called nautanki.
Nautanki can be considered as less of a drama but more of a variety show or rather a local circus; in this case, that lacks both amusing animals as well as entertaining talent. Such a comparison might come across as very derogatory and demeaning to the cast and crew who have worked at odd hours to compile a show for the audience – but at the same time, it is an attempt to make them realise what an utter waste of their talent and skills the play was. With a play that mostly relies on dance numbers and one-liners, they are by no means doing anything for the so-called ‘revival of theatre’ in Karachi. Instead, they have taken the standards a notch below, pushing us back into an era of racist, stereotypical, below the belt and above all, socially irrelevant plays that once persisted.
As far as the story is concerned, it is hardly a strong plot. The play is about Romeo (Faizan Sheikh) who has a dream to make it big in the film industry. He meets Paaro (Natalia) and falls for her. The story’s background involves a narrative from clichéd characters, the devil and cupid. While the devil wants the flirt in Romeo to dominate and carry on an affair with Paro, Cupid wants Romeo to meet his Juliet (Fariha). What follows is a predictable storyline with more than frequent picture-perfect dance performances. Faizan Sheikh’s crazy moves on the popular Indian song Badtameez Dil were the only highlights of the play that only lasted for a mere 15 minutes (at the beginning). What remains, is a bunch of youngsters trying to act and failing desperately.
In terms of acting, all performers, especially Natalia and Fariha, need a dire lesson in how to use their voices during a live stage show because either you couldn’t hear them at all or it was just unbearably loud. What came as a real surprise was the performance by seasoned actor Saqib Sumeer as Makkhan Singh, who despite coming from Napa and having done immense amount of theatre, has fallen prey to bad direction and good commercial money. Sumeer’s downhill journey as an actor is a text book example of how this vicious cycle of so-called ‘musicals’ can turn an immensely talented actor into more of a showman and less of a true artist.
The script is bland with unnecessary stereotypical jokes and one liners such as “Abay Korangi ki Bipasha Basu” and “Chotay ho tou kahin bhi charh jaaogay” whereas the set is way too grand for the play. Rather, it appears as a pleasant backdrop for item songs. The important issue that needs to be considered is the shelf life of these Bollywood-inspired musicals which lack a powerful message. With limited experience, socially irrelevant stories and structure-less plots, you can only fool the audience for a while but sooner or later they will realise that they are being fooled.
Sorry Juliet! Paaro loves Romeo is an uninspiring musical/sketch comedy that is certainly not worth a 1000 rupees. If you want to have a good time, then go watch a good movie or hit a gaming zone. However, in case you are a lover of senseless comedies, then this play is on till July 7 daily at 8pm at the Karachi Arts Council.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2013.
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