Situated in the middle of the posh
Lodhi Estate, Alliance Francaise has been one of my favourite avenues for
watching plays especially due to the riveting performance by one and only Saleem Shah.
From my previous experiences, I
can assure you that this artist is one of the most talented performers we have on
the theatre stage. Anyways, I had the immense pleasure to be audience to one of
his latest plays on January 31, 2016 i.e. Man Proposes, God Disposes. The name
itself was so captivating that I became victim of my own temptation and went
for the play.
Cast
Saleem Shah as the frustrated
defence lawyer
Vijay Singh as the convict in
jail charged with her wife’s murder
Plot
Vijay Singh a.k.a. Mr. Qureshi who
by profession is a butcher and works in a slaughter house has been charged with
the murder of his wife. Saleem Shah a.k.a. Mr. Tripathi is a lawyer by
profession but at the age of 45+, he is still waiting for his first case until one day this esteemed opportunity is provided by Mr. Qureshi unknowingly when he random chose Tripathi as his defence laywer. The play begins with the elated lawyer
entering the jail premises to meet his maiden prospective client and is
expectedly enthusiastic about the encounter. The convict i.e. Qureshi on the
other hand is more subdued since he does not see much ray of hope being cognizant of the fact that he only has
murdered his wife. Tripathi greets Qureshi with warmth and child-like grin and
literally coerces his client to narrate the circumstances which led him to
commit such a heinous crime. What unfolds is a comic tale whereby it becomes
apparent that the crime has been committed because Qureshi could not
stand the sick humour of his beloved wife.
However, the highlight of the
play is Tripathi who is bubbling with enthusiasm and the prospect of carving a
name for himself through this God sent opportunity. Throughout the narration by Qureshi,
Tripathi impatiently keeps on inventing clues which actually do not exist.
However, failure was not a choice for Tripathi and hence he starts fabricating
clues through witty humour. The role play between Tripathi and Qureshi as the
lawyer and judge respectively is rib tickling and hooks the audience to the play. Qureshi does his best to find flaws with Tripathi’s arguments and hence an
interesting love and hate relationship is showcased between the two. Finally,
the case goes for hearing and on expected lines, Tripathi loses the case. With shattered
hopes of a career, he approaches Qureshi the next day for providing
some consolation in the form of appeal to higher courts. However, Qureshi turns
down the offer and reveals the unexpected that he has been granted pardon by
the Lieutenant Governor. Tripathi is heart-broken on hearing this “estatic”
news but is inquisitive about the grounds on which pardon has been granted. Initially
hesitant to reveal the details, Qureshi finally gives in and confesses that LG
provided him pardon on grounds of injustice as he was represented by the most
incompetent lawyer ever possible. A visibly depressed Tripathi finds himself
short of words when witty Qureshi congratulated Tripathi for securing his
release. Tripathi is confused at this gesture but then Qureshi dawns the idea
on Tripathi that due to deliberate conduct of Tripathi in the court room, his client
has been released. This revelation provides Triapthi with the much needed appreciation that he has been longing for since the past 20 years.
Duration
87 minutes with no breaks
Language
English
What to watch for
Splendid performance by actors,
witty dialogues, strong narration
Overall rating
4/5
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