Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 18: Theatre group ‘Natrang’ here today staged Saadat Hassan Manto’s play ‘Kamra No. 9’ directed by Neeraj Kant.
The story begins with Shirin and her brother talking about various men who visit their building to meet Shirin. This, in turn, sets off a chain of events that leave Shirin as well as the audience in the quest to figure out who the new resident of room no. 9 is.
Nasir, who happens to be Shirin’s lover, visits her often. The play revolves around these two characters that are poles apart in their behaviour and thinking.
While Shirin is talkative and carefree, Nasir is thoughtful and composed, with an aura of complexity. What follows is their witty conversation, disclosures and inadvertent surprises. Shirin eventually rejects Nasir’s proposal, saying that he is a bit too sophisticated for her. Meanwhile, she is more interested in the resident of room no. 9, whom no one has seen except the Bhangan who cleans his house. Bhangan tells Shirin that the resident of room no. 9 is depressed, as she often hears him crying when she visits his room for cleaning. The play ends in a beautiful shadow performance, revealing that Nasir was actually the resident of room no. 9, whom Shirin had inadvertently become obsessed and fallen in love with.
Artists who performed in the play were Mahikshit Singh, Kananpreet Kaur, Mohit Sharma, Aarti Devi, Sushant Singh Charak and Rishiv Sharma.
Lights were designed and operated by Neeraj Kant, whereas music was scored by Sumit Raina. The show was coordinated by Mohd. Yaseen and presentations were done by Toyab Hussain.
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