Makrand Deshpande's new play, Poha Gone Wrong, takes an analytical look at two characters from the Mahabharata Sudama and his best friend Krishna

Makrand Deshpande's new play, Poha Gone Wrong, takes an analytical look at two characters from the Mahabharata Sudama and his best friend Krishna

The first thing that we notice as soon as we stepped into the auditorium to watch this play's rehearsal is that Makrand's trademark unruly mane is missing.
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A tiny ponytail is the only surviving proof of the long curls that once settled on his shoulders.
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The actor-director-playwright is yet to come to terms with the new haircut. It's quite evident because he keeps twirling the ponytail around his finger as he gives instructions to the cast and crew.

His new play, titled Poha Gone Wrong, has little to do with a ruined breakfast. On the contrary, the title alludes to the nickname the protagonist Sudama is given by his friends, the Pohankar sisters.
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"Sudama is called Poha because that is what he offered Krishna when he went to ask him for financial assistance," says Makrand.

Like in mythology, where Sudama is known only as Krishna's best friend but has no larger role, the play's protagonist feels that he is ill treated because of the legacy that is associated with his name.
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The playwright explains, "When my protagonist investigates Sudama's character, he realises that something is terribly wrong.

He wants to meet Krishna and ask him two questions: Why did you dictate the Bhagvad Gita to Arjun, a warrior, but not Sudama, who was a learned man?

Further, Sudama believes that after the Mahabharata, Krishna must've wept as he passed through the homes of the victims of war. But why did Krishna not share his burden with his best friend?"

Sudama's obsession with the Mahabharata turns him into an object of ridicule and the Pohankar sisters shun him. He is in love with the older of the two sisters but she wants to keep things platonic.
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"That is Sudama's fate. He will always remain the best friend. If he goes away he will be missed, so he has to remain on the sidelines. But my protagonist is fed up of this attitude," says Makrand.

In Poha Gone Wrong, he seems to have reconciled with his atheist beliefs by exploring the Bhagvad Gita.

The contradictions of the playwright are much too obvious in this production but then so are the trademark Ansh Production's motifs energetic performances and subtle humour.
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Drop by at the performance this week, and give Sudama an ego boost.

AT: Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Vile Parle (W). Till: July 15, 9 pm; July 16, 6 pm and 9 pm; Call: 26149546. Tickets: Rs 80 (till July 15), Rs 200 (July 16)

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