Atul Kumar's new play Detective Nau-Do-Gyarah pays homage to vintage gangster dramas with a comic twist

The Thirty-Nine Steps by Scottish author John Buchan is a popular novel that has spawned several film adaptations, the most famous one helmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935, by the same name. It has also served as an inspiration for Hindi filmmakers of the ’50s and ’60s, thanks to its fast-paced narrative and elements of film noir. Now, the book comes to the Indian stage. Helmed by well-known theatre actor-director Atul Kumar, Detective Nau-Do-Gyarah is the opening play for the theatre initiative Aadyam 2018.

Featuring an ensemble cast including Niketan Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Gagan Dev Riar, Mrinmayee Godbole, Sukant Goel, Abir Abrar and Rachel D’Souza, the gangster comedy is set in the Indian milieu. The story revolves around Shekhar Kumar, whose life turns topsy-turvy when a mysterious damsel in distress seeks his help. Soon, he embarks on a roller-coaster ride of romance, murder, deceit and suspense and finds himself in the midst of a huge conspiracy against the country.

Talking about the inspiration behind the play, Atul says, “The love of graphic novels, gangster films, noir genre, Bollywood of black-and-white era and, of course, a major influence of Alfred Hitchcock and Charlie Chaplin; then to imagine a theatre performance that could bring all of these worlds together was a dream come true. Imagine the protagonist weaving his escapades through the streets of yesteryear Mumbai, romancing beautiful women and solving mysteries of secret gangs, spies and espionage with their help.”

As the play unravels at a frenetic pace and features the cast members playing multiple characters, the actors had to undergo rigorous training sessions to increase their physical endurance. They also had to seek inspiration from yesteryear actors like Ashok Kumar and Pradeep Kumar to showcase their histrionics on stage. Gagan, who has worked on the script as well as features in the play, elaborates, “We are playing high-pitched characters like Jim Carrey or Charlie Chaplin, both in terms of physical as well as verbal comedy. We have set the story in the Indian milieu, so the cops chasing the protagonist have a Marathi touch while some other characters have a Gujarati touch. The goons are derivatives of yesteryear villains like Sambha, Sudhir and Jeevan.”

To add the vintage touch, the costumes sported by the actors are straight out of a gangster movie while a live jazz band plays tunes reminiscent of 1950s and ’60s.

For Neil Bhoopalam, acting in the play was just another opportunity to collaborate with his mentor, Atul. He says, “I jump at every opportunity to work with him. Acting in this play is like being children and playing on stage. Comedy is serious business. Also, we are trying to hit the cliches. After all, a cliché done well is no longer a cliché.”

As for Gagan, it has been an overwhelming exercise. “We are changing our own sets and turning into new characters with different props. We need to constantly be in sync with other actors. I have never been challenged like this as an artiste before,” he concludes.