Bhav Prapanch

Sikka Ni Triji Baaju

Sikkani Treeji Baju (The Third Side of the Coin) is a 110-minute thriller-comedy in Gujarati, written by Naushil Mehta and directed by Manoj Shah. Adapted from Chazz Palminteri's play Faithful, it is a sensuous thriller on the fragile themes of marriage, men, and money — with unexpected dollops of humour. Madhvi is the wife of multimillionaire diamond exporter Arvind Kothari. She lives in a secluded sea-facing bungalow in Mumbai. On a rainy day when she is home alone, Dhiru ‘Sixer’ — a top hit-man — manages to enter and overpower her. As Dhiru waits impatiently for his client's signal to kill her, Madhvi sits tied to a chair, realising she has only moments to save herself. Who wants Madhvi dead? Why? Is Madhvi able to find a way out of this predicament? Is Dhiru really the killer he claims to be? Is Arvind really Dhiru's client? The answers arrive with increasingly slippery footing, and the play slides between thriller and farce often in the same line. The third side of the coin, the one no one looks at, turns out to be the only side that matters.

Hu Chandrakant Bakshi

I, Chandrakant Bakshi

The story of Gujarati literature's most controversial writer, told by the man himself — or rather, by Pratik Gandhi inhabiting him with a ferocity that made audiences forget they were watching an actor. Chandrakant Bakshi (1932–2006) authored 178 books, served as Professor of History, became Sheriff of Mumbai, got his short story 'Kutti' banned by the Gujarat government, publicly defied Bal Thackeray and refused to apologise, and wrote an autobiography so incendiary that parts of it could not be published. His writing style — Gujarati laced with Urdu, Hindi, and English — was as deliberately provocative as his public persona. He was, by every account, an incredible egoist. He was also, by every account, adored by his readers. Written by Shishir Ramavat and drawn from Bakshi's autobiography Bakshinama, the play premiered on 15 June 2013 at Prithvi Theatre. Manoj Shah uses a ladder throughout the production as a metaphor for Bakshi's obsession with being on top. Gandhi — years before Scam 1992 would make him a household name — delivers what CreativeYatra called a 'cautious yet fearless' performance, bringing the bold and egotist protagonist to 'flawless perfection.' This play, along with Mohan No Masalo two years later, is credited with solidifying Pratik Gandhi's reputation as an actor of immense talent.

Apoorav Khela

The Ecstatic Wanderer of Rajasthan

Apoorav Khela — meaning 'a wondrous play' — is the biography of Avdhoot Anandghanji, a 17th-century Jain mystical poet who dwelled in the forests of Rajasthan and whose name has been all but erased from the books of history. Anandghan — literally 'cloud of bliss' — was born as Labhanand, likely before 1624, and was initiated as a Svetambara monk in the Tapa Gaccha order under the name Labhavijaya. But monastic convention could not contain him. He became an avdhoot — an ascetic wanderer who had renounced all worldly attachments — and disappeared into the forests of Rajasthan, where his proximity to nature was said to pacify the beasts and make the trees sway in joy. His absence from monastic records suggests he was always an outsider, more mystic than monk. What survived is his poetry. Anandghan composed padas — devotional songs — in a mixed vernacular of Gujarati, Rajasthani, and Braj that were spontaneous, ecstatic, and radically non-sectarian. His Anandghan Chauvisi honours the twenty-four Jain Tirthankaras. His Anandghan Bahattari was transmitted orally and in manuscripts, its verses sometimes found alongside those of Kabir, Surdas, and Banarasidas. Mahatma Gandhi included one of his hymns in his prayer collection. His songs are still sung in Jain temples across India — and even appear in Digambara hymn collections, despite his Svetambara origins. The play, written by Dr. Dhanvant Shah and directed by Manoj Shah, is constructed from the anecdotes and oral traditions surrounding this enigmatic figure. Five actors — Ashok Parmar, Jay Upadhyay, Nimesh Dave, Manish Rohit, and Sagar Rawal — bring to life a man about whom barely any documented information exists. Kabir Thakore's set design and Uday Mazumdar's music carry the Rajasthani folk texture, while Rajesh Mandloi's language work ensures the dialect rings true. The play does not attempt a conventional narrative. It is, as its own programme notes describe it, 'an astonishing flight of happiness, beginning with anand and ending with Anandghan.'

Kaagdo

Happiness Decoded

Imagine a world where being happy is a crime. That is the reality in Kaagdo — a biting satire named after the Gujarati folk tale Anandi Kaagdo (The Happy Crow), in which a crow is punished by a king but gleefully sings and enjoys every punishment. The play follows a man — a humble, barefoot government worker in a striped sweater — whose wife has died, whose daughter lives abroad, who owns nothing of consequence, and who is inexplicably, unshakeably content. This is considered suspicious. He is taken to court. A relentless lawyer is brought in to interrogate this anomaly, to crack open this man’s happiness and find the secret formula the world believes must exist. Written by Geeta Manek and directed by Manoj Shah, Kaagdo draws from Japanese ikigai, Sufism, and Zen Buddhism to ask the simplest and most destabilising question in modern life: what if happiness is not something you chase, but something you already have? Jay Upadhyay plays the contented man with a warmth that makes his happiness feel not naive but earned. Unnati Gala plays his daughter — successful, modern, perpetually updating — who cannot understand why her father refuses to want more. The Hindu’s theatre critic Vikram Phukan described the play as an ‘existential parable’ that is ‘not didactic in its approach.’ Shah himself said: ‘Even sadness is a tradition of happiness, which ultimately can be found within us.’

Dr. Anandibai

Like, Comment, Share

The first woman to perform a solo role in a Manoj Shah production — and the first Indian woman to earn a medical degree. Two firsts, separated by 131 years. Dr. Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi was married at nine, widowed of her infant son, and told by every institution around her that a woman's place was in the home. In 1886, she sailed to America and earned her MD from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania — the first Indian woman to do so. She returned to India to serve as the physician-in-charge at the Albert Edward Hospital in Kolhapur. She was twenty-one. She died of tuberculosis the following year, at twenty-two. Written by Geeta Manek and directed by Manoj Shah, the play uses the conceit of social media — Like, Comment, Share — to draw parallels between Anandibai's 19th-century struggles and the pressures facing Indian women today. Are they still defined by the likes they receive? Still waiting for male validation? Still weighed down by domestic duty disguised as devotion? Manasi Joshi performs the 75-minute monologue alone on a bare stage — no props, no set, just Kabir Thakore's spatial design and Hemant Joshi's lighting carving the world out of darkness. The play premiered at NCPA's CentreStage Festival on 2 December 2017, was later staged in Hindi and Marathi, and was selected for the 8th Theatre Olympics in 2018.

What's Up?

One Man, One Flight, Too Many Calls

Meet Chirag — a perfectly average man in his early thirties with a single, noble mission: catch a flight to Chicago and save his not-so-bright brother from being thrown behind bars for a minor misunderstanding. But before he can zip up his suitcase, his girlfriend drops a bombshell. His phone starts ringing like it owes someone money. On the other end: his sister’s in-laws, an elite task force of relentless, nitpicking, drama-fuelled wedding planners who believe that unless Chirag approves the saree border and the sambharo menu, the marriage might as well be cancelled. From that moment, Chirag’s day turns into a high-stakes obstacle course complete with passive-aggressive aunties, conspiracy theories on family WhatsApp groups, emotional blackmail disguised as wedding prep, and the looming threat of missing his flight. He’s stuck between love and loyalty, Google Maps and Google Calendar, chai breaks and breakdowns. Written by Uttam Gada and directed by Manoj Shah, What’s Up? is a riotous solo comedy performed by Chirag Vohra — the original lead of Master Phoolmani. It premiered at NCPA’s CentreStage Festival in November 2015 and perfectly captures the madness of trying to keep everyone happy when no one knows what they actually want.