Dhumrapaan is a play centred around various characters in the smoking room of an office. It is a space that is away from the usual social and work hierarchy. A safe space where the staff can let off some steam as they share their stories.
The plot revolves around their discussions, complaints and revelations about life-changing events. This show has been performed over 50 times in various cities that have a corporate culture. The play also won the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Award for Best Original Script. With its 56th performance in Bengaluru, the crew is excited to reflect the corporate culture in this IT city.
“This story is so relatable, regardless of what age the audience is. The play shows the boring life of the corporates and yet captures their multi-faceted personalities. It features those fleeting moments, which are undefinable but make up a regular work day. For it to be relatable and understandable, we made sure the language is colloquial and the issues are contemporary,” explains playwright Adhir Bhat, who also opens up about his own experiences while working in the UK. How the tired and jaded faces in the office would transform in the smoking room as they talked, smiled, shared, judged and whined.
Director Akarsh Khurana (known for his previous work on the movie Karwaan), says, “The sanctuary of the smoking room is a place for bonding, away from all the decorum of the office space. I remember once being in an airport smoking room, and observing the people in there, and their dynamics. I can say that that was the inspiration for this play. With plot twists and the improvisation by the cast, the characters and their story are quite lively.”
Actor Kumud Mishra, who plays the boss in Dhumrapaan, observes, “There are various shades of grey within my character and many shades in the rest of the roles. The play ranges between various moods like humour, anger and seriousness. The atmosphere of each will grip the audience. With its twists and turns, the play shows how these smoking-room discussions impact and change people’s lives.”
