The Pink Haathi in the Room, won the audiences attention at short play event
Winning it: The Schizophrenics won Skits this year. (From left to right) Jay Jha, Shayontoni Ghosh, Avinash Matta, Nemali Alekhya and Ganesh Nallari. (Sitting) Siddhesh Dharmadhikari
It was a clean sweep for The Schizophrenics at this year’s Skits – short play competition – with their clean comedy Pink Haathi in the Room. The group won almost all the categories in Dramanon’s event including the best play, audience choice award, best promotional video and best actor. And the highlight of the win is the reflection of quality theatre in the city.
The play, written and directed by Avinash Matta, revolved around the story of an actor and his dream, well his wife’s dreams, of fitting the bill in the classic Indian dream of being good-looking and the constant quest for moving abroad.
The play’s title, initially Maaya, was changed to Pink Haathi in the Room, when Ganesh Nallari, winner at last year’s Skits, suggested the change. “The Pink Haathi actually stood for the symbolism of hallucination. It was a clever way of putting it across,” says Nallari.
Several of Nallari’s smaller suggestions such as the colour of the wire of the serial bulbs were also taken into consideration. While Nallari does come with experience in a relatively young group, Avinash Matta, as a director, also notes, “It is important to consider actors’ suggestions. Theatre is an actor’s medium. It’s they who bring the script to life on stage.” The best actor award went to Siddhesh Dharmadikari, who played the protagonist.
Ganesh Nallari played the English-speaking persona of the actor’s imagination, Jay Jha who played the well-built, good looking aspiration of the protagonist had no lines and delivered comedy with just a dumbbell and a burger. And according to the team, it was this “clean situational comedy approach” that helped them win the audience’s hearts as well.
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