A perfect storm

A still from the play

A family's foundations aren't always rock solid. They might crumble when there is a clash of personalities between people sharing a roof. A generational gap between parents and children might create cracks as well. But people usually learn to overcome these hurdles because of the inherent familial bond they share. They learn to meet the others halfway. And that's what the plot of a new Hindi play this weekend deals with, highlighting how - after unreasonable demands of the patriarch take a toll on his wife and children - they manage to find a resolution so that peace is eventually maintained.

It's called Perfect Family, and the story revolves around a man named Anand Arvind Kumar, or AAK, whose father taught him that life is pointless unless a person strives for constant perfection in everything he or she undertakes. AAK thus tries inculcating the same value in his family members. But his wife is a TV addict who is seemingly more interested in watching her favourite soaps than in the household duties that her husband wants her to take care of. Their daughter is a young girl who has broken up with four potential suitors, blaming them for the failed relationships. And while the son completed his MBA with a gold medal, he'd rather be a musician than take up a corporate job, much to his father's dismay.

Thus, AAK is constantly at loggerheads with his family. He wishes the best for them. That's why he can't fathom their resistance. He feels that his wife has certain responsibilities when it comes to keeping everything in order since she is a home-maker. His daughter, meanwhile, is of marriageable age. So her constant break-ups don't bode well for her marital future. And why would the son waste an MBA seat if he was disinterested in a stable job and wanted to be a freelance musician in the first place? That's the question AAK has for him.

Things thus remain tense on stage till the interval. But there is an episode afterwards that changes the patriarch's perception.

The third boyfriend his daughter had broken up with pays him a visit. He tells AAK that the reason he called the relationship off is because of certain irritating, or imperfect, habits she had. She would slurp on her tea while sipping it, for instance, which got the boyfriend's goat. She also had no respect for another person's time, and would wear whatever she wanted despite him finding it inappropriate. So in a way, he is a mirror image of AAK, except that he wants the daughter to be even more perfect than her father does, forcing the latter to ask him, "Why can't you accept her for who she is?" And that's when it hits AAK. He realises that he had been similarly hard on her, as he had been on the rest of his family.

Om Katare

This change of mind eventually leads to a heart-warming resolution in the end, when the altered equation is revealed to the audience. "There is a message in there," says writer-director Om Katare, who also essays AAK's role, adding, "See, if I use my own example, I have been in theatre for the past 40 years. But my elder son is a chef in Australia, while my younger one is studying animation. They did act in a few plays here and there when they were children. But if I had forced them to follow my path, we would have ended up having miserable arguments."

Live and let live, is thus the embedded message he is referring to. There's a sense of give-and-take in every relationship. "The point is that nobody is actually perfect; some of us just pretend to be so," Katare says. So the next time you have a conflict with your family members, try and understand their point of view. Take a leaf out of AAK's book. Meet them halfway. And remember that there are two sides to every coin if you want the foundations of your own family structure to remain as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.

On February 29, 8 pm
At Mysore Association Auditorium, Bhaudaji Road, Matunga.
Log on to bookmyshow.com
Cost Rs 400

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