Habib Tanveer’s famous comedy play ‘lala Shohrat Rai’ left the audience in the whirls of laughter as the light hearted comedy play was staged at Antarang Hall, Bharat Bhavan to mark the concluding day of 15th Rang Aadhar Theatre Fest here on Friday.
The eight day long theatre fest was all about dramas of different genres which received an overwhelming response by the theatre lovers of the city. On the concluding day of the fest, the audience enjoyed the show whole heartedly. The fest was like a mass treat for the theatre lovers as they witnessed the dramas that were filled with emotions, laughter, dance and music.
Hindi play lala Shohrat Rai was splendidly performed by Habib Tanveer’s, founder of the theatre group ‘Naya Theatre Group, Bhopal’. it was first directed by Habib Tanveer in 1954.
The plot of the play is adopted from a French play by Molière ‘le Bourgeois Gentilhomme’ or The Middle Class Gentleman.
The play surrounds the story of the male protagonist of the play lala Shohrat Rai who is a merchant and is considered to be amongst the elite class.
Though he is a middle class merchant but as he wanted to grow in terms of
money and standard he chooses to become the elite or the classy.
For this lala Shohrat Rai aspired to learn the etiquettes which are followed by the elite class of the society.
He then also tried to learn the kind of Hindi language the elite people speak and which is also his mother tongue.
As he almost became obsessed with his learning procedure, his wife an intelligent woman tries to convince lala Shohrat Rai to back to what he was.
She asked him to lead the life of a middle class man and these things are not needed to lead a good livelihood as
they are already having a good life.
Meanwhile, all these incidents happen, the dreams and desires of lala Shohrat Rai to become elite goes higher and higher.
He wants his daughter to get married to a nobleman but she is in love with a middle class boy.
Rai refuses the marriage and his daughter presents her lover as a prince to Rai
and then he agrees for the marriage.
What happens next formed rest of the story.It was a delightful experience for the spectators. The dramatic irony was sensibly used in the presentation.
