MAIM - TUZO UPKARI HANV. A Tribute To All Mothers.
By: Daniel F. de Souza.
A middle aged widow fighting a long drawn court case to prove that her honest ex-serviceman husband who died fighting the 1971 India-Pakistan war was a patriot and not a traitor, her only son a US returned NRI who has such high regards and love for his mother for all the sacrifices she has done for him that on his return in recognition he authors a book as a tribute to her and names it ‘Maim – Tuzo Upkari Hanv’.
But, with passage of time and change of status this same young man does a volte face and belittles his mother publicly by calling her his servant and to add insult to injury later has the gall to scream ‘I hate you’ with rage and anger in the company of his devilish wife, as the mother’s lifeless dead body lies in the coffin. However, belatedly the reality hits straight and hard and he is made to repent profusely, this in a nutshell sums up the core theme of Rose Ferns new tiatr ‘Maim – Tuzo Upkari Hanv’.
A packed audience at the Gomant Vidya Niketan Margao on Diwali afternoon were glued to their seats for 3 hours watching in anticipation as the story of ‘Maim –Tuzo Upkari Hanv’ unfolded on stage sequence by sequence till it reaches its climax in the very last scene that was the befitting finale for the play.
The plot appears to be quite simple, the usual mother-in-law-daughter-in-law spat and tussle, with the son being the centre of the conflict torn between two women. But, the only difference here is that the mother-in-law is a very loving and submissive woman who has sacrificed everything to give her only son a respectable position in society but at the end of it all she is at the receiving end with her son being a mere spectator and turncoat. The plot too moves at a medium pace till the first half and picks up steam as it progresses into the second installment.
In the beginning it seems to be like any other normal plot that usually highlights such family upheavals between the hi-fi daughter-in-law and the traditional mother-in-law. The difference is in the twist the playwright has given to the plot in the ending with a dash of suspense so as to give it a polished finish to the satisfaction of all. The playwright and director Rose Ferns himself has a brief appearance in the first session of the play but comes out forcefully in the second half which eventually takes the story to a great ending with a befitting message. I do not wish to disclose the story line of ‘Maim Tuzo Upkari Hanv’ in any manner apart from what I have stated in the opening lines. But can safely say the plot has sufficient ingredients to tickle your funny bone as well as activate your tear ducts.
A couple of scenes where the mother is put into embarrassing situations by her only son gives ample reasons to touch your sensibilities, talented Roshan who is called upon to do the widow’s role does full justice to the script. Besides the last climax scene two more scenes that actually melt your heart are the one when Julius (Ulhas Tari) recovers from the serious head injury in the hospital and the reply he gives to the doctor when the latter questions him about the identity of the elderly woman who was constantly praying by his bedside. The other touching scene is the one when (Roshan) comes out with the brief case and coat and hands it over to the advocate (Victor) who is on his way to the court for the hearing of the case which is coming up for final judgment.
The comedy by comedians Seby- Sally-Tony de Ribandar who are blind, deaf and dumb respectively evokes good laughter with Sally being the pick of the lot, his individual skill at comedy stands out among the other two. Though at times it appears that this deaf guy suffers from ‘selective’ hearing for at one time he has to be told a thing three times, but sometimes he can hear clearly at the first instance. Tony de Ribandar too stretches every muscle in the body to bring out the dumb character effectively, a little more combination among all three characters can take this comedy to great heights. Among the many comedy sequences one that brings exceptionally good laughter is the steel ladle quiz episode.
The play has a good number of solos, duets, three trios and one quartet. Among the solos Francis de Tuem takes the cake for his decent solo, Lawrie too impresses with his solo, while Tari wins the hearts of the audience with his well composed decent solo and later being part of the trio. Incidentally Tari has now with passage of time matured well as a more confident solo singer. The quartet with Sally, Roshan, Seby and Peter de Benaulim set to a lively folk tune gave a good fillip to the entertainment turned out to be a hit. So also the comedy trio by Tony-Antonette and comedian Seby was well received. The political Trio by Tony-Lawrie-Tuem has a good punch exposing a certain politician however ending lines of the last chorus rendered by Tuem are certainly debatable. The playwright has well exploited Roshan’s singing talents in the Kantos, but one such kanto sung on the Abba’s English tune Fernando could have been provided better music backup even though otherwise overall the music is fairly good.
‘Maim tuzo Upkari hanv’ will certainly have its own share of audiences and appreciation, yet one may at the end get the feeling that there is something amiss from the usual Rose Ferns production. While three of Rose Ferns’ preceding shows have been super-duper hits, this show still falls short of coming anywhere close to his earlier hit ‘Maim- Tuzo Put Hanv’ which had the added advantage of the revolving stage. But if you truly love your mother and value her for what she is and what she has done…then this show is for you! Please do not miss it. Go ahead book your seat in advance and don’t encourage black marketeering to raise its ugly head, especially so in Margao.
