Can a village without internet show us how to be better netizens? Pune-based theatre artists present play that talks about mindless forwarding
Waking up every day to a new set of forwarded messages in family WhatsApp groups had become routine for 30-year-old theatre artist Suraj Parasnis. Often, these messages were polarising and rife with misinformation. Parasnis and fellow artist Omkar Gokhale, who also had similar experiences, found themselves becoming increasingly distressed by this trend. This is when they realised the need to raise awareness about it through their new play, Varta Varta Wadhe.
Set in a village with no internet connectivity, the postal system is the only way residents send or receive messages. The village is in a dreary state in terms of literacy and public awareness. Blind faith and superstitions have taken over people’s ability to differentiate between right and wrong. All hell breaks loose with the arrival of a letter one day, which gets misunderstood.
The play seeks to draw parallels between the village plagued by illiteracy and the current infodemic in the world around, where people often circulate messages without any scrutiny. “This play is a satire; a commentary on our tendency to forward messages without thinking twice and adding anything we like with it. We are trying to highlight what can happen if a person interprets the message in the wrong way,” says Parasnis.
Written by Gokhale and directed by Parasnis, the 90-minute play will feature more than 60 actors. “Casting of the play has been the most crucial. We needed to find the right actor for every character. Omkar has written the script in such a way that all the characters undergo a journey and have a complete character arc,” Parasnis says.
Written by Gokhale and directed by Parasnis, the 90-minute play will feature more than 60 actors.(Express Photo)
Directing such a large cast was a new experience for Parasnis. “Usually, a play has 20-25 people, but I am lucky to have the backing of 60-plus actors and a total team of 75 people, who placed their trust in me. There are challenges, but when you have a cast that is passionate and believes in the story you want to tell, their support acts as fuel for you to work more and tell a unique story,” he adds.
With the play, he wishes to bring about a change in the audience’s habits. “Nowadays, it is very easy to create rage and social discomfort because of the internet. After watching the play, if the audience starts questioning the authenticity of forwarded messages, it will be our achievement. Apart from talking about misinformation, the play also sheds light on the need to move away from traditional gender roles, and reduce gender inequality in society,” says Parasnis.
When asked if the rise in OTT platforms has reduced the footfall in theatres, Parasnis says, “I agree that people now have access to quality content on OTT right on their mobiles, and going out for plays can seem like a stretch. But making a high-quality play that was visually striking was one of our priorities. For this, we even have composed songs. The background music has been composed by Amogh Inamdar. We have tried to produce such a play that people will like to come and experience.”
Although the play is in Marathi, Parasnis is confident that non-Marathi speakers will be able to enjoy it just as much. “I have tried to make it as visually strong as possible so that non-Marathi speakers can understand what is happening because of the way each scene is framed,” he says.
Talking about his personal experience as director of the play, he muses, “Directing is meditative for me. I like to tell stories. I believe that whenever we are watching something, the emotions felt by the people in the scene get transferred to the audience. Therefore, I have very carefully designed every frame of the play so that the audience feels exactly what the characters on stage are going through.”
The play produced by Theatron Entertainment and Sneha Bhave Productions will be performed on July 1 for the first time, at Bharat Natya Mandir, and on July 3, at the Annabhau Sathe Sabhagruha in Pune.
