Students take centre stage

Students in the final year of their acting course at FTII are going to stage the Hindi adaptation of the famous play, Twelve Angry Men

Get ready to witness a courtroom drama, where the fate of a 16-year-old boy will be decided. The play titled Faislaa, is the production of the students in the final year of their acting course at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). The play, written by Ravi Kumar Shastri is the Hindi adaptation of the famous play, Twelve Angry Men.



In the play, a jury is appointed to decide the fate of the teenager, who is convicted of killing his father. In the jury room, a ten-member jury comes together to pronounce a just verdict for the young boy. What seems like an open-and-shut murder case becomes a contorted puzzle of prejudice and intrigue. As prejudices are tested and evidence is weighed, the entire jury is forced to look past the show of the courtroom to unearth the shocking truth. Faced with the job of playing hangmen, these ten jurors realise that they have to face themselves first.


Still from the play Faislaa

"This is a performance where all the students can give their best. There are 20 students in the final year and almost all of them will participate in the play. We adapted the play to the Indian context to make it a commentary," says Arvind Pandey, the director of the play.

Written by Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men was originally presented as a televised play on CBS's Studio One in the US in 1954. In 1957, it was made into a feature film starring Henry Fonda. Later, Rose's drama was adapted into a stage play. Since then it has been seen on Broadway and countless theatre productions world over.

Pandey feels that the play offers a huge scope for the actors to explore their learnt craft of acting. The play might contradict some of our judicial principles. For example a 16-year-old under trial for death penalty (as in the original play) or the jury based trial, which does not exist in India. The audience is requested to exercise suspension of disbelief or the understanding of artistic liberty, feels Pandey.

On: February 17 and 18, 5 pmu00a0
At Main Theatre, FTII.