Gulzar’s 2BY2 multiplied Delhiites laughter level by many folds
SRCPA hosts a staging of the Hindi adaptation of ‘Comedy of Errors’ by Shakespeare
New Delhi, 22 May 2024: The Delhi premiere of Gulzar’s 2BY2 (May 18–19) was a resounding success. Organised by the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts (SRCPA), Repertory at the Shri Ram Centre Auditorium, Mandi House, New Delhi, the play “2BY2” designed and directed by Salim Arif, was heartwarming and lighthearted entertainment, a play full of laughing riots, mistaken identities, and funny coincidences of identical twins.
Staged for the first time in Delhi, 2BY2 is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Comedy of Errors’ and helped Delhiites tickle their funny bones over the weekend. The play is about two identical twins with same names. Raj Tilak, a rich merchant, has identical twins whom he calls Ashok. One day, Raj Tilak, on his way with his wife and kids, finds another pair of identical twins whom he adopts and names Bahadur. One Ashok is married to Sudha and Bahadur is married to Prema. And the other two Ashok and Bahadur, are bachelors. Once the bachelor team of Ashok and Bahadur landed in the city of married Ashok and Bahadur, and now there are two Ashoks and two Bahadurs in the same city. This is more than their families, the jeweller, the rickshaw puller, and the inspector can handle, that leading to hilarious situations with many events and confusions going around.
After the play, director Salim Arif looked elated with his team’s efforts and execution, as well as applauding the support from the audience. Coming to watch a comedy play is a big thing and a very positive aspect for us. I always felt that Delhiites are the real admirers of art and culture, and they love unique creations and activities, said Arif.
While working on 2BY2, our main aim was to present a tasteful, family-oriented comedy. This play is based on situational comedy where the realistic happenings create a laughing riot that makes the audience feel light, he added. Shakespeare’s works are quite commendable, and The Comedy of Errors is a classic; many movies have used its plot. He further added that the main credit for its success goes to Shriram Centre, Hemant Bharatram, staff, and everyone. SRCPA has given us the freedom and facilities so that, I could use the stage in the best possible manner for this play, and all the characters gave tremendous performances, says Arif.
Chinmay Das, Chief of SRCPA Repertory said, we are a professional company and have been doing plays continuously. Initially, it was a bit challenging for us to work on 2By2 as repertory actors have not done such work while being in repertory. With inputs from Salim Arif Sahab, it became good coordination, and we presented this play in just 35 days of hard work.
The Comedy of Errors has made its mark, and when a writer like Gulzar Sahab and a director like Salim Arif join forces to create something with its adaptation, it’s obvious that it will create buzz for sure. Amidst IPL, elections, and other activities, we have received such a wonderful gesture and response from the audience. I can say, that 2by2 multiplied their laughter level by many folds and provided them with great time and entertainment, Das concluded.
The play was performed and presented by the SRCPA Repertory artists, the artists were Ashok (Rupank Sharma, Ashutosh Singh Rathore), Bahadur (Pranav Srivastava, Deepak Bhatt), Sudha (Anushree Jain, Manisha Gupta), Tanuja (Chhavi Panchal), Prema (Simpi Kaithwas), Chhedilal (Aryan Singh Thakur), Inspector (Aman Kumar), Mansoor Miyan (Manish Sharma), Rickshaw Driver (Abhishek Rajput), Waiter (Deepak Bhatt, Pranav Srivastava), Rassiwala (Ritesh Bhardwaj), and Admi 1/2 (Pankaj Bhatia, Ritesh Bhardwaj). The music operation was done by Shashank Jamloki, and the light design and operation was coordinated by Sarthak Narula.
