Ek Film Katha: Quintessentially Bollywood

The Mithun Chakraborty-starrer Pyaar Jhukta Nahin Sunny Deol; Amrita Singh’s 1983 film Betaab; Maine Pyar Kiya, another blockbuster starring Salman Khan and Bhagyashree—apart from being hits, these films have one thing in common.

The classic trope in classic Bollywood—girl meets boy, a song, they fall in love, another song, their families object, a villain intervenes, and again, a song indicating resolution would bring all conflict to rest aka a happy ending. This has, for the longest time, been Bollywood’s ‘formula’ for delivering films that churn out big bucks at the box office. Songs, both catchy and glamorous, would accentuate the storyline.

In an attempt to satirise Bollywood’s recipe for a masala film, Mayur Vihar-based Pragya Arts Studio staged Ek Film Katha, a 120-minute-long play at the Little Theatre Group Auditorium in Mandi House on Sunday afternoon. Directed by Laxmi Rawat—workshop coordinator with Shri Ram Centre, Mandi House, this play is based on a three-page work written by the late noted satirist and humorist Harishankar Parsai. “In this work, he [Parsai] has poked fun at the fact that Bollywood films are stocked with songs—even if the heroine’s mother dies, there is a song for that. At the core, there is one idea, hero and heroine meet, villain opposes, and so on. I thought this could make a great plot to explore,” shared Rawat.

Driven by entertainment

There was once a time when the theatre was denounced as elitist—narrating stories that catered to a certain segment of society. The post-pandemic scene is different. Theatre groups are mushrooming here and there— Mandi House is no longer the only hotspot—and directors are keen on exploring ‘massy’ stories. Ek Film Katha is one such piece of work. Distant from rationality, the play follows in the footsteps of a Bollywood drama.

The highlight of this non-brainer storyline is the use of songs. This play features more than 30 Bollywood numbers from across eras. It starts with Holi Ke Din Dil Mil Jaate Hain (from Sholay) and concludes with—obviously—Hum Saath Saath Hain’s title track. In between, we have a ‘romantic number’, an item song, and a sorrowful lament. “Songs have utmost importance in our films,” said Rawat, elaborating on this piece.

Multi-coloured light and artificial fog add to the glitz of this production. Ek Film Katha resonated with other filmies [film buffs] as it allowed the viewer to go on a nostalgic Bollywood trip. This was a play that did not want you to question or introspect, but just make the most of the caricatured characters, flashy sets, and earworms—just the way we have silently enjoyed other quintessential Bollywood films.