Writer Arnesh Ghose's play to deal with homosexuality

Writer-director Arnesh Ghose's latest play Shikaayat is a gay love story that spans a period of 10 years and is told told through music, poetry and letters

A still from the play starring Arnesh Ghose (right) and Sanket Sharma

Writer-director Arnesh Ghose's latest play Shikaayat is a gay love story that spans a period of 10 years and is told told through music, poetry and letters. Ghose wanted to create something that didn't add to the caricature that already exists in gay representation in pop culture.

"The play also questions the concept of right and wrong. It deals with romance, intimacy, pain and heartbreak. The story is told through two men, but it could be anybody's," says Ghose who also acts in the play alongside Sanket Sharma.

Ghose and Sharma play the two pivotal characters, Ved and Liaquat. "Both of them are young professionals when the play starts off . While Liquates is more uncertain and confused, Ved is reckless and stubborn, ready to break the rules. Sanket and I have been working together for three year. We are good friends, so there was that comfort level and understanding," Ghose says. Physical intimacy on stage, however, is always a challenge. "We had to work our way through it. Initially, it was a little awkward, and a little funny too. But then, with continued rehearsals, we got in sync. He's a fantastic actor, much better than me," he adds.

The one-and-a-half hour long play has been under production for five months now. Ask Ghose, what would he want the audience's key take away from the play to be, and he says, "As a theatre maker, of course I want them to be engaged and entertained by the play. I want the audience to become more open and aware of gay lives. I want them to understand that gay is much more than some men doing drag on a Kapil Sharma show or a Sajid Khan film."

When: September 9, 6 pm and 8 pm
Where: Harkat Studios,
Bungalow No. 75, Aram Nagar Part 2, Versova, Andheri West
Call: 9867257316
Entry: Rs 350

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