Last Saturday, I happened to watch the Marathi play "Mr. & Mrs." at Shivaji Mandir, Dadar. Actually, I had gone there to watch the play "Lagnabambal" which as per m-Indicator was scheduled at 4.30 PM. After reaching the theater at 3.30 PM, I found that there were no boards for this play. Instead, the play "Mr. & Mrs." was scheduled at 3.30 PM. Soon after my friend joined me, we decided to watch "Mr. & Mrs.".
The story revolves around a couple with Chinamy Mandalekar playing Amit - "once famous but now without work" type of actor and Madhura Velankar playing his wife Meera, who works in bank. Due to Amit's failure to bag any new work and his frustrating attitude, the married life of the duo is in a disarray. At this stage, Amit meets his old friend and producer Ashwin, who had produced Amit's first successful TV serial. He makes him an offer of a reality show. But this show is different - it will be shot at Amit's house and without Meera's knowledge. For 60 days, the channel will record the life of the couple and on last day, Amit would divorce his wife. As Amit had already decided in his mind to divorce his wife, the lure of new big role/money induces him to accept this offer. However, as the couple proceed with their lives for next 60 days, a lot of things unfold which force Amit to rethink of the offer and his life. Eventually what happens is something for the viewers to ponder about.
All the cast were excellent. The initial 15 minutes were boring. In fact, I felt a bit frustrated with the way Amit was treating his wife - why is she continuing with such a guy who keeps insulting her and questions her integrity. The arrival of Ashwin changes the pace of the play. Some of scenes are nicely though out. Take for example the scene where the couple re-live their first meeting. The play's main focus is of course - Reality Shows. The play accurately depicts the vices of such shows. The scenes where Amit is asked to promote brands while interacting with Meera are funny yet make you sad. I was intrigued to see the climax as I wanted to see what happens to the couple and definitely was not disappointed the way story ended.
All in all worth the watch.
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