KARACHI, Nov 5: The first thing that grabs you about the play is the name, for with a name like Janab-i-Wala Mar Chukay Hein, one expects something unconventional to unfold. Sure enough the play, the latest offering from the National Academy of Performing Arts’ Repertory Theatre Company, is a bundle of eccentric energy that leaves the viewer with pointed questions regarding the nature of the individual in society echoing in the mind, offset by moments of comedy.

The play, set in Kolkata (or Calcutta as it was once known) of the 1950s, was originally written by award-winning Indian dramatist Badal Sircar. The present version has been directed by Napa alumnus Fawad Khan and a curtain-raiser was staged on Wednesday evening at the Arts Council theatre.

The central character is Samant Sanial (Paras Masroor), a man with many conflicts – both inner and outer – who is struggling to find ‘himself’ amidst the many social and ideological obligations he has either been born with or has adopted. As the play opens, a Mephistopheles-like character appears out of the ether and drags Samant into a courtroom, where he is put in the dock to be judged for his ‘crimes.’

The courtroom resembles a Greco-Roman amphitheatre (full marks to set designer Tanveer Abbas), where the Mephistophelean character (Mohammad Ali Rizvi) now turns into a prosecutor, presenting ‘evidence’ against Samant in front of an invisible judge seated high above the proceedings.

Family members, friends, lovers, teachers and assorted others from Samant’s life are brought in one by one, examined and cross-examined to strengthen the case. The prosecutor tries to extract ‘evidence’ from them to prove how the accused has failed to fulfil his responsibilities, while Samant, defending himself, cross-examines them.

There are moments of high drama as we are reminded of Samant’s journey towards self-discovery thus far: his antagonistic relationship with his mother; a confrontation with a jilted lover; committing himself and then denouncing an ideology; ending a friendship; questioning his teacher; testimonials from his boss, a successful career as a poet, so on and so forth.

However, the highly philosophical plot is balanced by lighter moments, especially when the prosecutor bumbles about in court, exchanging sharp-tongued repartees with the witnesses.

Janab-i-Wala Mar Chukay Hein is the latest display of Napa’s evolution in motion. There were moments during the play’s nearly one-and-a-half hour long duration that dragged as there was a fair bit of repetition during the scenes where witnesses were being examined. Considering it was a difficult play to stage, perhaps the script could have done with a bit of pruning, if possible.

There were also times where one felt some of the cast members either overdid their parts or were too sedate. A few lighting gaffes that occurred could also be fine-tuned during the upcoming performances.

Overall, one must hand it to the director and the young cast for there were several scenes where the audience was absolutely riveted to the stage. Though the cast’s performance as a whole was commendable, Paras Masroor stood out, truly bringing the character to life. Kudos also goes to Napa for starting the play largely on the dot, for those of us who walked in even a few minutes late were surprised to see that the play had begun.

Janab-i-Wala Mar Chukay Hein runs from November 6 till the 10th at the Arts Council theatre. Show-time is 8pm.—QAM