The much awaited Hindi Manch production, Begani Shaadi Mein was a spectacular experience with two house full shows. It attracted over a 1000 people. Kudos to the team for creating two separate shows with two completely different casts and delivering a wonderful experience. The show was held at the Keefe Technical High School in Framingham on Sept 9th and 10th.
As you walked into the lobby, you felt you were part of a real wedding. You were greeted by Mehendi artists, Paanwala, a Dhobi and even a Jyotish (astrologer)! The people hosting these booths were totally into their roles. The beautiful ambience in the lobby was the vision of Raksha Soni that gave you the feel of a real wedding.
The book Begani Shaadi Mein written by Preetesh Shrivastav, on which the play was based was released by Dr. Pradeep Shukla before the first show. “I wrote this play during Covid. I wanted something uplifting and fun to present when Covid was over and done with. A wedding theme was perfect for a fun celebration. I wrote it with the intention of involving a large cast,†said Preetesh. His intentions were translated to reality as the play was staged including a team of over 100 people who were performers and supporting the team.
Based on a fun wedding plot with special twists and turns, the play was a hilarious comedy that had the audience laughing through the presentation. Featuring an irritated “Phuphaji†as a central comical character, Preetesh succeeded in using the subtle details of such characters at an Indian wedding to great effect. The play also spoke against the societal approach of casting aspersions on women when a wedding is broken off due to no fault of hers. It also derided the use of the phrase ‘Izzat Lotana - losing one’s respect’ to talk about rape of a woman. The dances put together by Vasudha Kudrimoti were wonderful and added a fun festive touch to the play. Preetesh is a master at bringing wonderful twists to the play (as was seen in Mirchi Cola as well) and was able to bring a lovely feel good atmosphere to the play.
We hope the Hindi Manch will do a re-presentation of this grand effort.
Kudos to the team who put this all together. You can watch their interviews here.
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