Ah..well.. after a long time, I decided I d go watch a play with my friends. And then, Srinidhi got the tickets for Phantom Parody. I told Sid, I d be going, and he warned me against it. I pooh-pooh ed him and was there at the Sivagami Petachi Audi, M.Ct.M school, Mylapore at sharp 6pm.
Many were known faces (thanks to Orkut hehe), and finally we found our seats in the second row from the stage.
Can anyone please tell me why this play s called Phantom Parody? There is no parody as far as I can see. (Well a little sprinkled here and there..)
And then the play began, after a comical (eh??) introduction. The way the clock chimed was quite interesting, and I thought I d after all not wasted my evening. So much for first impressions....
Harish as VJ Sam - good job !! But I suppose, you could have got off that sleepy look on your face. You dont exactly look like a play boy yourself.. type mismatch !!!
Ashwin as Srivatsan Rajagopalan - hahaha man.. you let the ladies in the audience drool (well not exactly drool) but sort of, like you. Typical husband / boy friend material eh? May be you need not have actually got so emotional with Cini.. (Ahem Ahem)
And Cini as (San)Diyaa, left me wondering why she was looking so damn familiar.. then I checked out her profile in Orkut only to find out that I ve been seeing her every other day at work.
Linda babe !! What a burst out ... (Sorry I forgot your name). wonder why you guys did not show the leggy beauty Saishaa...on screen....;-)
And Murgi... hehe.. guess you picked up a lot of your mannerisms from http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=JjvzQm4bJ8s. A decent job I must say...
While the team has done a decent job, there are certain things that Rebelz might need to take care of, if they want to continue in theater.
Lighting went haywire in a few scenes - especially flashbacks. And what was that thing between Diya and Sri? While Sri openly disclosed his love for Diya, she never mentioned it anywhere. And he just happened to meet her in a park bench in NYC after so many years? Whoa !
A cliched topic of American Indians and Indians going abroad on B1 or H1. Their accents and the way they carry molaga podi and tamarind podi and how buying nappies from USA for a new born back in India.. hey guys.. Grow up.....I am sure we ve seen lots of this day in and day out. I am sure nothing of this sort happens these days. And what cliched dialogues between Hitler and VJ.. sad.. really sad...
How many times have we seen / heard lectures - Dad works so much overtime, you are wasting his money and when the son says 'I d repay every penny'
Guess the Rebelz have been a little liberal in their dialogues too. I dont know how many uncles and aunties squirmed in their seats (may be.. how many of them actually understood the dialogues??)
A few dialogues gave me the feel of sitting through an S.Ve Shekar drama... well.. well....esp the Patty and Paati one by Murugi and the Mambalam Mosquitoes and Tambaram Turtles.
While I did laugh at some of the lines, and a few actions.. I did not leave the audi satisfied. I did not want to give my feedback there, as your paper was so small. Wonder if I could have written so much.
Ah BTW, the most important. Natz music was excellent. Was lingering even after I came home. Guess that s the highlight of the play.
I came to know that the Rebelz pooled in their own money to stage it. Appreciate your enthusiasm. Am sure you ll get some sponsors next time. Try to get some article written in "Mylapore Times" and other local papers.
On the whole, for a maiden venture, I d rate the Rebelz a 4 out of 10. This is a very honest opinion not driven by likes / dislikes of any Rebelz member. They can do a much better job next time.
Congratulations on your maiden venture and All the best for your future productions !! :-)
