BARFF - HINDI

Saurabh Shukla's 'Barff' is about the distinction between truth and faith.

About The Play: Dr. Siddhant Kaul is visiting Srinagar to attend a medical conference. His taxi driver Gulam Rasool, requests him to treat his ailing child. Upon arriving at the village, Doctor gets shocked as there is only one house and the rest of the village is deserted

Language: Hindi
Cast: Sadia Siddiqui, Sunil Palwal, and Saurabh Shukla
Writer & Director: Saurabh Shukla
Length: 90 minutes

VENUE: CHOWDIAH MEMORIAL HALL, BANGALORE
DATE: 13th JANUARY 2019

My Review:

A play that raises epistemological questions of truth, belief, and justification.

Although I watched it 9 months ago, the impact is still lingering on and I am guilty of not writing the review all these days. So today, I decided I must write what I feel about it.

The play is about a doctor who is asked to help his driver in the Kashmir Valley on a Wintry Night. What began as a simple conversation between the Driver and Doctor slowly built-up a lot of drama and ended provocatively raising a lot of philosophical questions. Having said that, the format is neither preachy nor philosophical, it's more drama and thriller. Things are not explicit, they are subtle and layered and that's the best thing about the play.

The writing is impeccable, it's very organic and fluid. Never did I feel that something big is going to happen till it happened. The events were as natural as they can be. It showed the vulnerability of humans, the thought process of a common man, the trepidation within each of the characters.

The set was beautiful, it was a single set with two places shown by shifting focus lights, but the simple setup was enough for this spine-chilling drama. The chills come through the writing and acting and not because of the props or set and that was wonderful again.

"What we see is not truth but what we believe is" - this is the essence. The core of the play is about questioning the faith, the belief of each one of us.

This dialogue summarizes the play

"Duniya ke saare Sach, Yakeen par khade hote hain. Aap Yakeen karke dekho, Sach apne aap ban jaata hai. Varna Sach….apne aap mein kuch hota nahi hai, Janaab!"

It's a fabulous, one of the most intriguing and highly intimate plays I have ever seen. Thanks to Saurabh Shukla for giving us a worthy time. Watch the play to believe it whenever you get a chance.