Set against the 2002 Gujarat riots, a woman accidentally meets her tormentor after eleven years. The encounter lays bare old wounds, and she finds herself torn between forgiving her tormentor or taking revenge.
A psychological thriller set in 2013. The backdrop is 2002 Gujarat riots and the recent 2013 Muzzfarnagar riots. Komal Solanki is a painter and is married to Abhay Solanki, who is a famous human rights activist and lawyer. Abhay is being appointed as a member of the human rights commission to investigate the Muzzfarnager riots. The story begins when a one-night storm forces Abhay to take a ride home with a stranger, Avishkar Pandya. Komal recognises Avishkar’s voice and realises that he is the same person who raped her 11 years ago at the time of the Gujarat riots. This chance encounter brings back demons from Komal’s past, and she takes Avishkar captive to find out the truth. Komal wants Avishkar to confess everything on camera, or she threatens to kill him. Komal is torn between her troubled psychological repressions and painful memories. Abhay is torn between his wife and the law. Avishkar is forced to endure captivity when his husband and wife seek out the uncertain truth about Komal’s troubled past.
Will Komal kill Avishkar, or is she going to forgive him? This is the question that keeps the audience guessing until the last scene and makes the play a perfect thriller.
Director’s Note
An eye for an eye will make the world blind. – Mahatma Gandhi
People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. – George Orwell
We fear violence less than our own feelings. Personal, private, solitary pain is more terrifying than what anyone else can inflict. – Jim Morrison
In today’s time, violence has become a culture. Intolerance has become our second nature. There is a need to speak out more than ever before. Riots, rapes, honour killings, moral policing, labeling—the list is endless. These termites have started to eat into the very core of what used to be our strength as a nation, namely our diversity.In all human conflicts, there is always one thing common. There is a party who suffers, and there is a party who inflicts suffering. How does the reconciliation start? Where does the cycle of violence stop? How does a bleeding heart heal? Through this play, we want to understand, feel, relate to, and react to the present condition of people who have suffered extreme atrocities, who are affected physically, economically, psychologically, emotionally, and morally, and who are no longer the person they used to be.
Cast & Crew
Abhay Solanki: Joy Sengupta, Komal Solanki: Dilnaz Irani, Avishkar Pandya: Harsh Khurana
Concept & Direction: Kalyani Hiwale & Maneesh Verma
Scenography: Tushar Pandey, Lights Design: Narayan Chauhan, Production Manager: Jignesh Karia, Executive Producers: Maneesh Verma & Joy Sengupta, Back Stage: Aditya Garg, Gaurav Gupta, Poster & Publicity Design: Maneesh Verma, Production Stills: Gorky Max
