A new play adapts Nikolai Gogol's Inspector General into a musical set in Haryana
(From left) Abhay Joshi, Paritosh Sand, RJ Mantra, Yashpal Sharma and Jeetu Shastri in a scene from Smart City
Actor Amitosh Nagpal, whom you may recognise from films, Dabangg and Rangrez, has adapted the popular satirical play, Inspector General by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Titled Smart City, it's is a musical adaptation and opens in a small town of Haryana. "When reading Gogol's work, which is set in Russia in the 1850s, I realised that not much is different from what newspapers report in today's India, with corruption almost everywhere," shares Nagpal, who answers our phone call between rehearsals.
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(From left) Abhay Joshi, Paritosh Sand, RJ Mantra, Yashpal Sharma and Jeetu Shastri in a scene from Smart City
"Despite my education, I haven't been able to figure how these Rs 50,000-crore scams are pulled off. Where do people hide the money? What are the logistics?" he asks aloud, continuing, "These questions have always fascinated me. I based the story in Haryana since I hail from there. Since the play is a comedy, I thought Haryana was well suited. I love the sense of humour of people from that part. If you listen to the songs there, you will realise that they are always bragging about killing people, brawling and are proud of the oddest achievements. For instance, if you asked someone to name the next station, they would ask you if you wanted the information so you could jump off the train and comit suicide there," he laughs.
(From left) Abhay Joshi, Vinod Nahardi, RJ Mantra, Jeetu Shastri, Yashpal Sharma and Paritosh Sand during a rehearsal
The plot revolves around the DIG of a town who encircles his trusted group, who hold various positions in the bureau, to inform them of a mysterious man who is about to come to inspect their town. And if he finds that all's well, he'll declare their town a Smart City. In a bid to ensure that he gets famous by getting this prestigious title for his town, the DIG sets out trying to identify the mysterious man and convince him in not-so-honest ways to grant him the title in exchange for whatever his heart desires. "It is a comedy of errors since the eccentric characters land in an unexpected situations during this process. The actors sing, dance and entertain using satire. The play is not preachy," informs Nagpal.
Amitosh Nagpal
The 90-minute-long play has a cast that includes Yashpal Sharma, RJ Mantra, Paritosh Sand, Namrata Dhamija, Jeetu Shashtri and Anjum Batra. "When you write a script, you have some images in your head about people who can play the part. Being from NSD, I had some of my seniors, whose work I had seen and admired, in mind. You will see actor Jeetu Shashtri on stage after a long time," says Nagpal. The play will feature eight original tracks created by musicians Omkar Patil and Rohit Das. The lyrics and dialogues are a mix of Hindi and Haryanvi.
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