MERA WOH MATLAB NAHI THA - PLAY REVIEW

When was the last time you thought of watching Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta perform live, to a story written and directed by Rakesh Bedi and return disappointed? NEVER? Well if you’d consider MERA WO MATLAB NAHI THA, the above lines fit in to be only partially true.

On a lazy Sunday evening, the St Andrews auditorium was packed to the capacity with an audience eager to watch the mavericks take the stage. And what transpired then was a bit more than 2 hours of a story which, as soon as spelled out hints of connect, disconnected more rapidly with the elements of extremity that filled up the plot.

35 years had passed since the young romance, brewing in the gullys of Chandni Chowk was not allowed to run its course. And at Lodhi Gardens, feeling the cold morning breeze, as if the breeze symbolically showcased the cold that the protagonists had survived in their lives for 35 long years, Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta meet and discuss everything that had remained unanswered only to realize that some things must remain unanswered.

While the conversations for a major part of the first act of the play were smartly written, the childish and rather absurdly presented flashbacks of the couple and their years at Chandni Chowk was what made me cringe! And from thereon, the narrative became a mix of over the top emotions, larger than life circumstances, lives bordering on extreme ends, all in a play which appeared and began like anything but a slice of life.

The beauty of the narrative laid in the manner of un-layering the emotions which began from refraining and ended up being a tell-it-all tale.

There were letters that didn’t reach their address, negotiations in the name of marriage, domestic violence and criminal instincts, falsely lived parenthood and old age rejection, all of it which was not presented as much it was justified. And that precisely was the pain point.

Everything and everyone in the play had something or the other to justify their behaviour which to me was not required simply because it is understood that all what happens in life can hardly ever be justified and for that either of the protagonist had to be a really morally strong character which sadly none of them was and hence it made all the more painful to accept the justifications.

And more so, if the spark still flew after 35 years, justifications for once could have taken a back seat, complaints could have been on the waiting list and a soulful walk down the memory lane, which needn’t be extraordinary but be very normal or routine could have an impact that could have lasted forever.

Neena Gupta though messed up with a dialogue or two in her performance, commanded immediate attention. Her act was natural, heartfelt and strictly up to what was required out of her role. What stood out in her performance was the playfulness with which she rendered some of her dialogues almost as if teasing Anupam Kher and thus bringing out the playful essence of the romance of the teenage.

Anupam Kher, well if I might say, owned the play. Right from his first line till his concluding phone call, he raised the level of the play and almost covered the magnanimity of extremes in the plot with his simple yet poignant performance. The child in the old man came to life while he narrated one of his teenage life blunders, the maturity of his age came to life when he justified both of them to be too ahead in their lives to be gullible. And what has always been a trademark of Anupam Kher’s performances, be it on stage or in front of the camera, spontaneity and improvisations made the play exciting to watch, all of which Kher was blissfully aware of, toying with lines here and there, creating awkward situations, turning the tide of the conversation here and there and yet being true to the essence of the script. Master class.

Rakesh Bedi too chipped in with his comic timing intact like it was on the television and despite being a very minute character in the entire set up; even he came with emotional baggage, making the already heavy script a tad heavier.

The play survived purely on the performances and despite garnering rave reviews, I found it overrated.

MERA VO MATLAB NAHI THA possibly hinted on the possibilities that could have shaped the destiny in a different manner, talked about a lot that could have been different from the scenario that the characters were in but the point of it remained that possibilities do not happen on their own; paths have to be created to walk on.

Also towards the end, when the characters part, knowing that certain things despite being at any stage of life are not possible, but with the respect for each other intact and having lived 35 years in a span of 3 cold mornings, they realize that things have to end; and the end need not always be how we expect it to be for life is about how we adjust to the ending that we have created for ourselves.

And yes at the fall stage in our lives we do realize how life could have been staggeringly different from the one which has been lived; as an afterthought is good once in a while, it is good to reflect on things and equally important to be in the present at the same time.

Sadly I expected a lot of neutrality and commonness from MERA VO MATLAB NAHI THA, which depended on extraordinary and outrageous, the lazy Sunday evening at the packed St Andrews auditorium still was worthwhile for there were reasons enough to tune in your hearts to the frequency the thespians were performing at.

**2.5STARS**