Guwahati, September 27: The GPlus Guwahati Theatre Festival 2024 kicked off in grand style at Pragjyoti ITA Machkhowa, attracting a packed auditorium and generating a wave of excitement for the festival for the weekend.
The festival commenced with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by Sunit Jain, Publisher of GPlus & Chairman of the Guwahati Theatre Festival, in the esteemed presence of Ashutosh Rai SC C, Deputy Director Bureau of Indian Standards Guwahati; Nalini Buragohain, CGM Corporate Affairs, NRL and others.
The festival's first day featured the much-anticipated play “Puraane Chawal,” directed by Sumeet Vyas and produced by D for Drama. The play’s brilliant cast, including Kumud Mishra, Shubhrajyoti Barat, Ghanshyam Lalsa, Anamika, Kirti Soni, Prashant Pandey, and Divyendu Saurav, captivated the audience with a stellar performance.
Set in contemporary Mumbai, “Puraane Chawal” is a Hindi adaptation of Neil Simon’s classic, The Sunshine Boys. This blend of nostalgia, humour, and drama revolves around Khushaal Mehendi (played by Kumud Mishra) and Vijay Das (played by Shubhrajyoti Barat), a once-successful comedy duo.
The play delves into the story of two comedians who try to revive their career when they are invited to revisit their old play for the opening of a cultural centre. However, old wounds resurface, and their reunion leads to hilariously sharp exchanges. The plot thickens as the duo rehearses for their big comeback, resulting in an emotional, yet comical journey toward rediscovered camaraderie.
The duo’s spirited and comic banter had the audience erupt in bursts of laughter making the opening a success. “Looking at artists like Kumud Mishra perform in our city is always exciting and it is a privilege that we at Guwahati Theatre Festival can host artist of this magnitude for our patrons and have been doing so for over the years. The weekend line up with the rest of the plays are also going to be extremely worthwhile and I would request audiences to participate wholeheartedly in this experience," expressed Sunit Jain, Chairman of the Guwahati Theatre Festival and Publisher of GPlus.
Day two of the festival will present Rael Padamsee’s Ace Productions “Anything But Love,” directed by Vikrant Pawar, while the final day will feature another Rael Padamsee production, “Hidden Agendas,” directed by Karla Singh.
For the first time, the Guwahati Theatre Festival has expanded its offerings to make the festival more inclusive of performing arts by hosting competitions in Singing, Dancing, and Cosplay, alongside an Open Mic session, Acting Workshops, and other experiences. Hundreds of participants registered for these events, contributing to the festival’s awe-inspiring atmosphere.
The seventh edition of the festival is initiated by GPlus and powered by The Assam Tribune, in association with Apollo Hospitals Guwahati and supported by Numaligarh Refinery Limited, NTPC Bongaigaon, NEDFi, Indian Bank, State Bank of India, Poddar Car World, Bureau of Indian Standards, Outreach Advertising, and Novotel Guwahati.