Ashok Lal's "Ek Mamooli Aadmi" directed by Arvind Gaur on 7th Nov at Chandigarh

Ashok Lal's -Ek Mamooli Aadmi"
directed by Arvind Gaur
7th November 2011 at 6.30pm
at Tagore Auditorium, Chandigarh

Actors-
Viren Basoya,Bajrang Bali Singh,Shiv Chauhan,Malay Garg,Rahul Khanna,Gaurav Mishra,Himansu Maggu,Palak Bhutani,Pankaj Dutta,Suraj Singh,Abhisek Pandey,Mannu Chudhary, Narendra,Kakoli Gaur,Saveree Gaur,Pradip Awasthi,Sachin Sexena,Tarun Kumar,Vartika Tiwari,Kumar Vaibhav,Amit Dahiya,Pradeep Awasthi, Bhavdeep Singh,Manoj Yadav,Mayank Pandey,Anamika Singh, Smita Lal,Rahul Srivastava,Rohit Vaid,Vineet Kumar,Vivak Sharma, Harsh,Ashish Sejwal,Tarun Kumar,Narendra Thakur ,Kunal, Tushar,Prabhakar, Neetu,Rinki Negi,Kajal Badana,Devesh,Hargun,Illa Joshi,Rahul Malhotra ,Kundan, Naman,Neetu Sharma,Pooja Tyagi,Praveen Kr.,Ratan,Richa, Seeth,Vikash
Music by Dr. Sangeeta Gaur

About the play-
Ek Mamooli Aadmi' underlines those features of an urban middle class setting which make the yearning for real happiness an agonizing experience. The play also accentuates the contours of a system in which even biological relations are bound to breed loneliness and family becomes fatal to an individual.Ishwar Chand Awasthi, the protagonist, is to die soon and this fact makes him realise that it was not life that he led so far, it was death, unnoticed and unannounced. The perception of this death animates him and he turns to be the source of others' happiness- an extraordinary asset to life and society.

Critics says
'Ek Mamooli Aadmi' is one more milestone in Asmita's engaging repertoire of meaningful theatre.
- Nikhat Kazmi (Times of India)
Meaningful production.. .Another feather in the cap of a young director Arvind Gaur.
- Kavita Nagpal (H T)
'Ek Mamooli Aadmi' is an excellent play with a lot of humou , lot of life's reality
- Smita Nirula (Pioneer)
The play is built around the protagonist Umesh's curiosity to find out why Brahmins had refused to participate in his father's 'tehrvi' ... production is excellent... innovative...
- Romesh Chander (Hindu)
Written by Ashok Lal and directed by Arvind Gaur (अरविन्द गौड़), the play is a deeply moving description of the travails of a middle-aged clerk who knows of his impending death. Reserved, reclusive and politically correct Ishwar Chand, decides to do some unusual things before dying. The acts are not a result of angst or deeds of rebellion, Ishwar just wants to savour another life, paint a new picture of himself for his own viewing. His escape from reality is a challenge to that very reality. Death becomes a motivation for pleasure; he wants to please others, see others happy, and make others fulfilled
- Indian Express

Director's Note
For Asmita Theatre, a new production has always been a part of a process – a fresh chance to react within ourselves and our society, to explore new dimensions in theatre – our choice of socially relevant themes being an extension of this goal. 'Ek Mamooli Aadmi' started off as an exercise to explore ways of using time and space to convey the underlying theme.
During this process we discovered various aspects of our society as it stands today, under the shadow of a consumerist culture, where the base of many a relationship is superficial and the individual is often left with a feeling of loneliness and existential angst- yet often indifferent and unwilling to make a change.
As this play exposes the political and social attitudes and priorities of our society on a smaller canvas such as that of the family and workplace, my actors were involved in an intensive process of looking at their immediate world both inner and outer, with a fresh perspective.
Many a moment in 'Ek Mamooli Aadmi' rose out of much debate and discussion. I hope that this play makes relevant and positive contribution – as t has to us and puts forth a fresh set of questions that we may ask of our society and ourselves.
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The Unknown Citizen'
Poem by W H Auden

"Our researches into public opinion are content
That he helped the proper opinion for the time of year
When there was peace he was for peace
When there was war he went
He was married and added five children to the population ;
Which our eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation
And our teachers report that he never interfered with their education
Was he free? Was he happy?
The question is absurd
Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard."
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