Just as things were getting a little gloomy and dull, Zee Theatre’s ‘Monsoon Special’ has arrived to add a little cheer and warmth to the rainy season. What can be more comforting than being cosy at home and watching teleplays that are both entertaining and have an enriching perspective about life? Engage with characters on a rainy day who are managing the ebb and flow of life in a unique way through these teleplays such as ‘Internal Affairs’, ‘Sir Sir Sarla’ and ‘Ok Tata Tata Bye Bye’. These plays will air on Tata Play Theatre all through the month.
An overview of the plays
Internal Affairs
This contemporary play about modern relationships begins when a post-work drinking session leads to a clumsy one-night stand between new recruits Sid and Rhea. They tumble into a relationship neither of them wants and hovering in the background are the ghosts and regrets of their romantic pasts. Find out, if in this day and age, amid stressful workplaces, dysfunctional families, changing values and burdens of the past, any normal relationship stands a chance, leave alone an accidental one. The teleplay is directed by Adhaar Khurana and stars Hussain Dalal, Priyanshu Painyuli, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Shikha Talsania.
Sir Sir Sarla
Like the monsoon, is there a season of love where emotions can flow unabated? What happens if love remains stifled by tradition and cannot be expressed except as anger? Writer, director and actor Makarand Deshpande’s much-loved classic, ‘Sir Sir Sarla’ explores these themes with great sensitivity. This is the story of Professor Palekar and his student Sarla – a pretty, innocent young girl who seems to be enamored by her mentor. There is also Phanidhar who shares a complicated relationship with the professor because of a personal grudge. The play explores how the bond between the students and their professor goes through multiple changes across the years. When emotions begin to overflow, secrets are revealed, accusations are hurled, and three characters in a single love story confront each other finally. The teleplay stars Makarand Deshpande, Aahana Kumra, Sanjay Dadhich and Anjum Sharma.
Ok Tata Tata Bye Bye
Director Purva Naresh’s well-researched play based on the lives of sex workers brims with authenticity, honesty and empathy. It neither glamorises the protagonists, nor paints them like tragic figures. The story begins when Pooja and Mitch go on a journey to document a sex worker’s life, but realize that it’s not as easy as it seems. There is a lot to be found and perhaps a lot to lose in this little village, a hub of commercial sex work on a bustling highway. The young sex workers the couple meet, engage their hearts and minds and demolish their pre-conceived notions with their stories. Their life-altering revelations make the two laugh and cry and question their own prejudices. The play stars Geetika Tyagi, Jim Sarbh, Prerna Chawla and Sarika Singh. Watch ‘Ok Tata Tata Bye Bye’ on Tata Play Theatre
