A tale of a married couple

A tale of a married couple

Actors Amruta Subhash and Sandesh Kulkarni have made no bones about undergoing psychotherapy to tackle certain issues in their life. They wrote on it, spoke about it from various platforms, and are now coming together in their new Hindi play, Phir Se Honeymoon. The play, which will be premièring during Natyasattak Rajani 2020 (at 1 am on the night of Jan 25-26), is about Suhas and Sukanya, who after seven years of marriage, find themselves adrift, stressed out because of their hectic lifestyles.

Open up
A decade ago, Sandesh wrote and directed the play titled Punascha Honeymoon. It has now been translated into Hindi, Phir Se Honeymoon by Amruta and has been produced by Scriptease, their new venture. The trigger point, the actor says, was their relationship and how they both went in for psychotherapy and are still continuing with it. 

“Recently, Kushal Punjabi took his life. People take such dire steps because they couldn’t speak about their suffering earlier. Both Sandesh and I have been speaking about it through our writings. We went in for treatment and now we are in a happy space, we are good friends. Our friends can’t understand why we went for psychotherapy. Are you mad, they ask. Our refrain is, why wait for it? The medical sciences have made so many advances. Then, why shouldn’t we take help if we are suffering from depression or other related ailments? I don’t think you become weak just because you seek help. If you don’t seek help for stress, or for your depression, then you hold the people close to you, your partner, spouse, parents responsible. While we were undergoing psychotherapy, we realised all these angles and that found a voice through the play. Love and relationship is all about give and take,” says Amruta.

Phir Se Honeymoon, which began with their story, has now become a universal, relatable tale. Says the Sacred Games 2 actor, “The play is not entirely about our lives. We have changed a few things... but yes, the experience is cathartic. When the music begins and we are standing in the wings, holding our hands, wishing ‘best luck’ to each other, Amruta and Sandesh slowly get transformed into Sukanya and Suhas. After the Hindi play premièred at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai, we have had a few couples meeting us backstage and asking if we had fixed cameras in their bedroom.”

The story 
When the play was revived, certain changes were made to it, like the introduction of PUBG as a character. “I am happy that we are working on the same play in a different language. However, we have tweaked a few aspects keeping in mind the changes that have swept our society. We have introduced PUBG, a new character in Phir Se Honeymoon. Some aspects discussed in Punascha Honeymoon are still relevant, so we have retained those. Stress-inducing situations, hectic lifestyles affecting sexual lives of couples   have amplified now. The subject that Sandesh has written on, is quite close to every married couple’s heart,” she adds.

In the play Suhas and Sukanya feel that their relationship has lost something vital. To find that missing piece in their lives, they go to Matheran and stay in the same hotel, where they had gone for their honeymoon. There, the past and present timelines start merging. 

“We at once straddle many worlds. You and I might be chatting now, but you might be thinking about an incident which occurred earlier in the day. In the play too, Sukanya and Suhas are living simultaneously in the past, present and future. I think this is very symptomatic of our lives today, as we barely live in the moment. Phir Se Honeymoon plays out on three levels — Suhas is a writer and he is working on a novel, he is also undergoing psychotherapy, and the third is Suhas and Sukanya’s life together,” says Amruta, who has worked with Sandesh in Sathecha Kay Karaycha.  

The play is a textured weave, homogeneous and it reaches you in a cohesive format.

Mere paas waqt hai, toh tumhare paas waqt nahi, tumhare paas waqt hai, toh mere paas nahi; hum double bed ke do tukde ho chukein aur samundar ki leheroein mein ek dusre se gote khate, door door ja rahein. Woh leherein humein le jaye, uske pehle humein samay ka ek shant neela tukda khojna chahiye, nahi toh bahut der ho chuki hogi – I think this sentence is the crux of the play,” she adds.
 
Besides Amruta and Sandesh, Amit Phalke and Kaushal Jobanputra also act in Phir Se Honeymoon. 

On the stage
The story talks of surreal realities, but how does it unfold on stage? The National School of Drama alumnus explains, “Stage is a character, so are sound and music. Suhas and Sukanya are chatting in the hotel room when suddenly a voice pipes up, ‘Platform Number 2 Ki Local...’ that’s how the mood and tenor of the play changes.
 
The changes in sound, costumes indicate the change in time and location. The first half of the play is like a whirlwind and the audience takes little time in getting used to the pace of the change and transformation. In the second half though, the play goes a little deep in content.”

A lot has changed since the play was first staged. How did Sandesh foresee what was coming our way? Says Amruta, “I think writers have a foresight; they are neutral observers of the going-ons in society and they have it in them to feel the pulse of society and where we are heading. One of our friends said to us after watching the play – ‘Now I know what you were writing for the last one decade. So yes, it is true that some artworks take up a few years of your life’.” 

“Scriptease is our a new venture and we are encouraging good content, not necessarily in the commercial sense. We are working with Satish Manwar, Manaswini Lata Ravindra, Dnyanesh Zoting. We feed off on each other’s energies. I see a good script in Shilpa Kamble’s writing,” Amrita concludes. 

ST Reader Service

  • More performances during Natyasattak Rajani
  • January 25, 9.30 pm-Midnight: Gulzar..Baat Pashmine ki (Hindi Musical) featuring Sachin Khedekar and Kishor Kadam
  • Platform Performance: Jashn-E-Sukhan
  • January 26, 1 am-3 am: A Hindi play, Phir Se Honeymoon 
  • Platform Performance: Bas Aise Hi
  • January 26, 4 am- 6 am: A Hindi play, Gangadhar Hi Shaktiman Hai
  • Tickets available on www.ticketees.com

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