Comikaze VI by Dramanon

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It can often be disconcerting if you are in the middle of a particularly raunchy lovemaking session, and an unfortunate compulsion takes hold of you, causing an existential crisis and jeopardizing the steamy vibe and by extension, the relationship. What can be even more confusing though, is how a blind girl most certainly knows when you’ve banged your girlfriend, if you’re from Delhi and exactly how to coax you into doing her bidding.

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Well then, what is not disconcerting? In a country where sex is a taboo genre for discussion, imagine your dad arranging sex as a coming-of-age present. It could be challenging enough to bargain with a hooker for your delicate son who needs to learn that slow and steady wins the race, not to mention discover after all of it is over, that his desires are certainly not heterosexual.

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How far do you think you can go to fulfill your desires? Would you for instance, meet vampires to ask for your girlfriend’s hand in marriage? Would you listen to their tales of undead, of how human males are afraid of commitment, and Bloody Mary keeps them alive? Or are you one of those who pretend to be the most devoted husbands at home and secretly harbor a hatred for babies? Or worse, you might be that dominant wife who dreams of robbing their husband slyly to buy your favorite car.

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Smart, surreal and rife with sexual innuendos, Comikaze VI by Dramanon is living proof of exactly why they’re the eighth best theatrical organization in India. Comikaze is a short play theatre festival that was initiated in 2010 as an event to honor the 10th anniversary of Dramanon’s rejuvenation by Mr R.K Shenoy, and it continues to be an annual exhibition of various genres of comic theatre. With eight short plays, of twenty minutes each having the perfect blend of sensible humor, they’ve lived up to the name ‘Comikaze’.

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Today’s show was undoubtedly fun, with satire on the most horrendous events you can think of- be it a bank robbery, a murder mystery or swallowing a condom and having it taste like sweet corn chicken soup. With a fast paced beginning, it lacked comic timing in a couple of plays, but for the most part managed to keep the audience engaged and laughing. Manahar and Ishika did an excellent job with the direction, and so did the various actors. Among the plays by the Manipal wing, Ishani sengupta needs special mention about how she admirably changed into three different costumes in a twenty minute play, and happened to be three different characters, much to the spectators’ enthusiasm.

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The team from Bangalore did an excellent job too, especially Naga Krishnan who repeatedly ended up being the bad guy. Saving the best for the last, with R.K.Shenoy’s direction and Harika Vedula as the blind girl or the chaotic “dispose-your-condom-in-a-proper-way” girlfriend, she definitely did make a permanent mark in our minds with her expertise. Tavish Bhattacharya was no less; having been nominated for “Beauty and the Beast” by Broadway, he is already going places.

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Dramanon continues to be one of the best theatrical groups we have seen, and enough cannot be said about the unsung heroes responsible for putting up such a beautiful performance. The Production heads are never appreciated wholly, but they are practically the backbone of the show. Only the people who were physically present there can appreciate the Sets team, which changed the sets every twenty minutes with roads, benches or beds- turning the backdrop from bricks to a red wall. These are indeed the unsung heroes who deserve immense praise.

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If you were one of the many who spent the evening watching and appreciating the hard work Dramanon as a whole put in, I’m sure you’ll admit that it was worth every single rupee that you paid for. Save for the few moments when their comic effects seemed contrived, most of the short plays were worth the watch. This was especially since beneath the satirical dialogue, there was so much to learn. Comedy and satire are certainly few of the most difficult genres to pull off, though the Herculean task gets slightly easy when you cough it up with a bunch of sexual innuendos. That’s what they tried to do, and much as I would hate to admit it, between the gasps and sighs, I found myself laughing for the most part.

Suffice it to say that it was definitely worth the watch.

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Photography by: Niharika Nayak

 

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