‘Ballabhpur ki Roopkatha’ mesmerises audience

Aparna Banerji

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 12

The grandeur of Badal Sarkar’s classic ‘Ballabhpur ki Roopkatha’ was brought alive on the stage by a theatre group YUVAA in a two-hour-thirty-minute performance at the Saigal Memorial Hall in Jalandhar on Saturday.

The story of the play revolves around a scion who is eager to get rid of his debts carried over from years of indulgence in aristocracy.

With its humour and credible performances, the play proved to be a delight for theatre lovers.

The story is about Bhupathi Rai, eking out a modest living at his palatial mansion – which he is now keen to sell off to pay his aristocratic debts by selling his house which is in dilapidated condition. He is rescued by a surprise visit from buyer Haldaar, the rich owner of a soap factory, who comes with his wife and a pretty daughter Chanda Devi.

Bhupathi’s rag tag group (Comprising a loyal servant and grocers) put up a show of royalty to the buyer. But Haldaar seems to be more interested in the ruins. Simple, rustic – sans any lecherous humour or politics, the play even though starting off slowly picks up pace in the middle.

The acts by Ankur Sharma as Haldaar and Vishesh Arora (Bhupathi Rai) especially in the cameo of the zari-coat attired, turbaned, Sanskrit-mouthing ghost Raghu Da lifted up the play. It was aptly supported by a caste of Bhupathi Rai’s watchman, grocers, trader and false-moustached friends who charmed with their village humour and situational punches.

The women characters- Haldaar’s wife and daughter Chanda Devi also put up impressive performances. The quaint finishing touches to the final introduction of the caste also displayed the effort put in by the characters.