Karan Veer Mehra on being a part of teleplay Lights Out Real take

Zee Theatre will air ManjulaPadmanabhan’s acclaimed work Lights Out on 21st March at 2 pm and 6 pm. Manjula is the first Indian recipient of the International Onassis Prize (1997) and one of the few female playwrights in India. In Lights Out, she draws our attention to the general apathy towards crime. Based on a true incident, the play revolves around a group of middle-class people who observe an assault in a compound from a nearby apartment window. Even though Leela, the lady of the house, is traumatised, her husband Bhaskar chooses to be apathetic and justifies not going to the police.

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Actor Karan Veer Mehra, who plays Bhaskar in the teleplay, says, “I have played a lover, a psychopath and a cop, but never anyone like Bhaskar. He is a typical middle-class escapist, who is not bothered about anything that unravels outside his comfort zone. He doesn’t want to stick his neck out to help anyone, even if it happens to be a woman in crisis. The play highlights the theme of a woman’s vulnerability in our society and raises questions about the culpability of those who can make a difference, but do nothing. Considering the safety of women is a major concern today, this play will definitely strike a chord with the audience.”