Gujarati theatre and the name Feroz Bhagat are synonymous. As producer, director and actor, Bhagat's Baliwalla Theatre has been
on an overdrive on the floorboards for years.
Bhagat mostly directs and acts in his productions and, of late, has been teaming up with another equal powerhouse of stage talent, Apara Mehta. Though telly viewers may know her better as Tulsi's ma-in-law, Savita, in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, theatre remains Mehta's raison d'tre.
In the last five years, Bhagat and Mehta have been seen together in plays like Aa Paar Ke Pele Paar, Adhura Toi Madhura and Aapnu to Badhu Private Limited. The duo hope to recreate the magic again with Kem Cho... Majama. This new production from Baliwalla Theatre opens in Mumbai at the Tejpal auditorium, Gowalia Tank, on November 20.
Written by Pravin Solanki (another regular with Baliwalla Theatre), it
is about relationships laced with a tinge of comedy. It takes a look on the bonding between an odd couple — the groom's father and the bride's mother. These in-laws (or out-laws?) serve as a catalyst to the young couple's union.
A marriage is about to take place and both of them are the key players in it. But things take a funny turn when they find themselves attracted to each other. Old age crisis along with a streak of romance in the autumn of the older couple's lives forms the crux of the play.
As in his earlier dramas with Mehta, both the actors breathe life into the characters with great aplomb.
Interestingly, Mehta has been combining her hectic daily soap shoot schedules (she was even seen in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin recently) with rehearsals and out-of-station performances for years. Most Gujarati plays have several showings in Baroda, Ahmedabad and elsewhere in Gujarat.
This means that Mehta has been flying in to Mumbai every morning to shoot for Kyunki and taking the evening flight back to Ahmedabad, Baroda or wherever the play is being staged, to be in time for the show. Just like people may collect coins and stamps, she collects boarding passes! Any airline that provides frequent fliers with incentives would have Mehta on top of the list.
Theatre gives her the high and television can't slow her down. It is a well-known fact that Mehta always keeps an overnight bag packed in her car as she zips from Balaji's Sankraman Studios at Goregaon to Santa Cruz airport. When Kem Cho...Majama has shows lined up in Gujarat, Mehta will fly in again — in time — for her shows.
Bhagat's forte seems to be primarily comedy and along with Mehta, both make the perfect stage couple.
