NewZNew (Chandigarh – Kulbir Singh Kalsi) : The Students of The New Public School, Sector 18-B, Chandigarh staged the play ‘Charandas Chor’ at Tagore Theatre today. The play, adapted from the RajasthaniClassic folktale was designed and directed by the famous theatre exponent of the region, Zubin Mehta. 75 students from classes IX to XII participated in this outstanding presentation including live musicians with original score. Charandas Chor is a charming thief who lives by duping and dodging the law. Despite this, he is curiously a man of principles and loved by none other than the Queen. Through his acts and deeds, he exposes the double standards of established institutions, religion, the state, class hierarchies. The queen gets enchanted by him and proposes to marry him. His refusal to marry costs him his life. As he is put to death, he illustrates the inherent paradox in human existence where truthful existence becomes impossible. The play retains a timeless quality relevant to all and the honest and passionate portrayal of the characters made it an overwhelmingly moving experience. Lyrics by Indu Khetarpal added to the flow of the narrative. Ingenious play of lights, costumes and appropriate set design transported the audience to another era. The choreography by Puneet Jewandah and Kritika Sharma was a visual treat. Prince Arora as ‘Charandas Chor’ and Mihika as ‘Rani’ gave stellar performance. Abhayjeet as ‘Guru’, Mukul Arora as ‘Mantri’ and Avninder Singh as ‘Poojari’ impressed the audience with their consummate performance.
“Theatre is a powerful medium and the satire in this play will surely leave a lasting impression on our students. Staging this play gave an opportunity to our students with flair for acting to show case their histrionics ability” said Mr. R.D. Singh, the principal of the school.