22 April,2011 10:17 AM IST | | Priyanjali Ghose
If you are the one who eats, sleeps and drinks the favourite sport of the nation, then spare your evenings this weekend with a young cricketer as he acts in an English play, Doosra
Is cricket getting on your nerves what with a million eyeballs gazing at the greens for a good half this year? Many might also see it as an overdose of cricket. Director and playwright Anand Raghav couldn't agree more.
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Through the English play Doosra, Raghav questions if the true values and spirit of the game are lost thanks to the bombardment of matches all through the year. In their production, the city theatre groups Paradigm and PraKaSam narrate a story that traces shades to cricket from the past to the present.
"There is a humorous undercurrent to how cricket used to be a game full of nuances and how it is now commercialised," says Raghav, describing Doosra as a passionate, fast paced and entertaining play.
Back in 2002, match fixing scandals surrounding former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin inspired Raghav to pen Doosra, which in colloquial term is a delivery, which is bowled by the off spinner but swings the other way.
In Doosra, the audience will witness the journey of Ganesh, an off spinner and left-handed batsman, who gets an opportunity to play for the national team. His father, a yesteryear's cricketer tries to instill in Ganesh the values and righteousness that was essential to the gentlemen 's game.
Sharing the differences between the characters of Ganesh and his father, Raghav says, "The dad's character represents the old players, who used to play the game for its worth. On the other hand, Ganesh portrays the present, a time when the value of the game is lost and corruption has crept in," says Raghav. He adds that the father's character is inspired by the famous cricketer Gundappa Vishwanath and the principles he exhibited through his game. Ganesh's character is a live example of how at times the game robs you of integrity and emotion.
However, Raghav clarifies that cricket and not any particular character is the protagonist of this play. Doosra, according to him traces the changes that the game has undergone since the 1970s.With changes like test matches to one day internationals and finally the twenty-twenty matches, Raghav attempts to bring out changes in the game as well as in the mindset of players.
"There is clearly an overdose of cricket. If you are playing for 365 days you are becoming a slave to the game. The play also shows how the audience is obsessed with it," says Raghav.
Doosra also uses audio visual elements to show famous cricketers and their victories and failures as backdrops to show the twists and turns in Ganesh's life. Also, through the characters of the minister, members of selection committees and fans, Doosra mirrors what goes on in the heads and hearts of all those, who live on and for cricket.
Where KH Kala Soudha, Hanumanthnagar
On April 23, 3.30 pm
April 24, 3.30 and 7.30 pm
Call 9880006877 For R 100
