Welcome again, Zindagi play infuses doses of humour into an otherwise serious tale

The father’s an old-school gentleman, who spends hours travelling in a local train to return home and immerse his feet in warm water for a relaxing ‘pedicure’. The son is an ambitious MBA whose dream is to start a new business with a childhood friend. They are poles apart, and standing between them is the lady of the house.

After completing 10 successful years on the Gujarati stage, Saumya Joshi’s play Welcome Zindagi has been adapted in Hindi. The Mumbai premiere was held at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Bandra, on May 14, and the next run will take place at the St Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra, on June 11. “While adapting the play in Hindi, I had to exercise my memory muscles, and yet add some fresh elements,” said Joshi, who has written and directed the play.

Though the Bal Gandharva show started half an hour late, it kept the audience hooked once it began. The main highlight was the way it has infused doses of humour into an otherwise serious tale, which talks of a father-son conflict caused by the generation gap.

The protagonists here are Arun Ganatra (played by Joshi himself), the much-experienced head clerk in Gandhi Associate, and his wife Bhanu (Jigna Vyas), a homemaker used to tolerating his quirks that include leaving behind his tiffin at home or buying vada pav and forgetting to take it out from his pocket. The couple stay in a two-room flat in the heart of Mumbai, with their son Vivek (Abhinay Banker).

Due for retirement, Arun is proud of his glorious service, and also talks of how he has worked hard from staying in a place where he had to stand in queue to use the toilet, to having his own accommodation. His association with the company is humorously depicted in the way Bhanu rattles off the names of all the ‘Sirs’ he has worked under. To celebrate his farewell, the office has planned a send-off and Arun has been asked to write a speech.

In his mid-20s, Vivek plans to team up in a start-up business with his friend, who belongs to an affluent family. He’s against working as an employee in a corporate enterprise. Till then, father and son are known to communicate through Bhanu, who says she is the bridge between them. While doing an endless round of push-ups and in between rounds of classical music heard on headphones, the youngster discusses his plans with his mother. Ultimately, when it comes to making an investment, he has to speak to his father. Arun is hesitant, mocking at his son’s qualifications. “MBA is business run by somebody else, with administration by you,” he quips.

A particular incident keeps cropping up, explaining the gap between Arun and his son. Years ago, after he had returned from work, Vivek had suddenly hurled a football at him, in the hope that he would play. Being tired after a long journey, the father had reprimanded the child. The episode created an irreparable distance between the two.

Though the subject tends to get serious after a point, humour is used subtly to avoid making things heavy. Diversions like a minor shock caused by a faulty door-bell provide a few laughs. One looks forward to Arun’s farewell, but incessant rains force a cancellation. Since Arun has already prepared his speech, he reads it out to Bhanu. The content of his speech, where he urges all fathers to learn to speak with their children, reflects his true emotions.

One advantage is that at roughly an hour and 45 minutes, the play isn’t long. The set design is minimalistic, using simple furniture and an old-fashioned TV to depict a middle-class household. Even the costumes are simplistic — while Arun wears shirt and trousers, Bhanu is in her home attire.

The play has only three actors and all of them are fabulous, showing perfect timing on the punchlines and natural sincerity during the more serious moments. As a symbol of their roots, Arun and Bhanu are shown speaking in accents the way native Gujaratis would speak Hindi.

Director Joshi’s attention to detail is commendable. Besides publishing a collection of poems in 2008, he has been actively involved in Gujarati theatre. His plays include Dost Chakkas Ahin Ek Nagar Vastu Hatu, Aathma Taaru Na Akash, Welcome Zindagi and 102 Not Out, which was later adapted by Umesh Shukla as a Hindi film starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor. He’s known for his tight scripts and witty narrative style, and the Hindi adaptation of Welcome Zindagi is a welcome addition to his career path.