The 131st show of Kishan vs Kanhaiya directed by Umesh Shukla was staged at Siri Fort auditorium, New Delhi. The main actor Paresh Rawal pulls in the audiences and how. The show had to be seened to be believed – that such wit, command on such tricky situations, subtle language use could result in a gem of a show in Hindi.

Seldom does one hear such applause from audiences; loud laughter could be heard and clapping at the right moment and smiles all around. This play was saying things that we see believe and just don’t question but Paresh Rawal as Kishan Lal Mehta did just that. We applauded, agreed& appreciated it all. Somebody was saying the right things!

Paresh Rawal was at his best as a Gujarati businessman who looses his shop to an earthquake termed as an act of God. Insurance company will not pay and he as a Gujarati businessman will have his money. What a comedy follows! The entire cast ensures us that we the audience sat riveted and such is the grip of the story that nobody left the auditorium. And hats off to Paresh Rawal, he stopped the play midway & demanded full attention of everyone including the society of photographers and such is his command – he got pin drop silence and obedience!

A must see play for all Indians – we too have our arts, actors and writers and with encouragement more mind provoking topics will come up other than the usual humdrum of politics, policies and police! Long live the theatre.

Text by Gursimran Singh
Images by Maswood Khan, Brandbay