All About Friendship

Makrand Deshpande’s new play Poha Gone Wrong deals about existentialism and camaraderie

Change is the only constant in our life. But, over the years, the meaning of friendship has undergone a major transformation. A well-educated, naïve person is often termed as a bechara (poor fellow) and taken for granted by his pals. This basic thought proved to be a take-off point for actor, director and playwright Makrand Deshpande. He decided to highlight this issue in a contemporary setting with a mythological base in his new play Poha Gone Wrong that was staged recently at Prithvi Theatre.

The play revolves around three childhood friends - two sisters (an aspiring actress and a writer) of the Pohankar family and a Brahmin boy, Sudama, who is trapped in the epic times of the Mahabharata. He cannot snap back to the present because he strongly believes that he has an important mission to accomplish in that era, which would affect our mythological history. The sisters cannot relate to this unreal world he dwells in, and therefore find it difficult to accept him. This skirmish between the two worlds forms the basic premise of the play.

Deshpande says, “A poor Brahmin boy Sudama, comes to the Pohankar sisters for bhiksha regularly. But he suffers from a complex and realises that he can never become Krishna or the most revered friend of the sisters. As he grows older, he becomes a vidhvaan (the learned one) and starts dwelling on issues like why Krishna shared the Gita with Arjun when Sudama was his childhood friend and why wasn’t he given due importance by Krishna and asks him these questions.”

The play explores the trials and tribulations of a true friend (Sudama) who was never given due importance by Krishna. “If a book is written on Krishna’s life, Sudama will be mentioned only in a few pages. But his role was much bigger than that. In the play, I have also explored the possibility that if Krishna had told the Gita to Sudama, would it still be popular?” says the playwright.

Deshpande, who has always highlighted sensitive issues, wanted to explore how the meaning of friendship has altered. “Now, friendship which is a universal theme, is more about someone whom you take for granted and never realise his importance. Theatre is a strong medium to highlight it,” he adds.

The actor-director revisited the Bhagwad Gita to learn more about Krishna. It took him a month to pen his thoughts and turn it into a play. The biggest challenge that he faced was to ensure that the play communicates its message to the public clearly. “Poha Gone Wrong had to be unassuming to get the message across,” he adds. Deshpande is also portraying the role of Sudama. He admits that it has been an interesting experience to portray a mythological character in contemporary times. “I discovered more layers of Sudama while acting and learnt how it feels when you are sidelined by your friend.”

Poha Gone Wrong features Makrand Deshpande, Ahlam Khan, Raj Arjun, Neha Saraf, Sarika Singh, Bhupesh, Akash, Vinod Tharani, Mukesh Bhatt, Krishna and Ghanshyam.