published & performed

It is discovered one day, in a decrepit part of the heavens, reserved for emperors that are known to be ‘The Great’ (Alexander, Ashoka etc) that Akbar has been disjointed from his epithet. This is due to his countrymen now viewing him as a Muslim, foreign invader. Dismayed and utterly let down by ‘Lutyen’s’ swarg’s bureaucracy, he finds support in heaven from other Greats -- Ashoka, Alexander and  Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But, ‘who on earth’ will fight for him? Directed by  Dr. M. Sayeed Alam

The story of a middle-class couple, Amar & Vibha Saxena and their search for a Pashmina shawl during a vacation. A search which is hijacked by a loud couple from Delhi. The foursome end up finding a deal at a small shawl seller's shop. However, the shawl seller and the Saxenas share more that the sale. They share the sorrow of dealing with the loss of a child. First produced by Treasure Art Association and directed by SAJIDA. It has since been staged by Rangkarmee, Kolkata; Being Art Association

Hidden behind words like MeToo and HeToo. Consent and Coercion. Gender and ‘Beyond Gender.’ And all the ‘isms’ that pervade our world, lies the world of Sahil Ramesh Kukreja. A witty, penetrating Satire on his accidental and ‘not so accidental’ interactions with women in today’s time.  Is he an ‘Aggressor’ or a ‘Victim’ in this frequently played Mating-Game? The play features, and is directed by the inimitable Saleem Shah a veteran of Indian Cinema, Television and Theatre.

What happens when a Minister attempts to reign in dissenting artists? His I.A.S. comes to the rescue by creating another I.A.S. (Indian Artistic Service) so that artists can be safely ensconced in Government jobs and made to tow the official line. Directed by ZAFER MOHIUDDIN, Kathputliyaan Theatre Group, Bengaluru.

The play is about a TV reporter at a farmers’ rally, enquiring why they get Rs. 5/kg of tomatoes that sell for Rs. 30/kg in cities. A satire follows on how middlemen, local leaders, experts and feudal lords make merry while agriculturalists suffer. In terms of theatrical style, we call it a street play in a proscenium. It is in Hindi & English and is of 45 minutes without interval. Directed by Mrinal Mathur

The play is an imagination of the conversations between the trio of Gen., Shahnawaz Khan, Col. Prem Kumar Sehgal and Col. Gurbakhsh Singh. The trio who faced the INA trials in 1945, that was the last such public trial to be conducted at the Red Fort. The rendition is centred around Mr. Bhulabhai J. Shah’s speech in their defence that became a “key moment in the elaboration of an anticolonial critique of international law in India.” 

Directed by Dr. M. Sayeed Alam, Pierrot's Troupe - Delhi. 

The play wades through several familiar characters. The harried doctor. The worried patient. Hypochondriacs. The ‘gym’ folk. The frustrated receptionist. The overbearing saas. The nervous groom. The brash guests at weddings. The sulking phupha. Housing society office bearers. Women’s rights activists (especially the armchair kind). Pseudo artists and their obsequious ‘yes men.’ All connected through their hypocrisy. Directed by Amar Sah, Bela Theatre Karwaan - Delhi.

Natya Kumbh, this book of nine collected plays, including Akbar The Great Nahin Rahe, 2063 A Reunion, The Death Penalty, Pashmina and many more are the definitive oeuvre of the playwright. These are plays that deal with these conflicts that are shaping our world. The world of playwrightmrinal.  

TRI-AAJ, as the name suggests, has three plays that capture issues that we face today, through the inimitably sardonic lens that the playwright is known to use. It features, Teen Tumhari Taraf a series of sketches that intertwines several denizens of middle-class urban India. who are connected through a common thread of hypocrisy. The Death Penalty is a play for an exclusively adult audience as it deals with the sensitive issue of child rape and the obstacles in the fight against this crime.

Two plays that matter, on what matters. Satya Shiv Sundar questions the economic and business models of technology majors from the perspective of those that have been left behind. It is a hostage drama that builds its tension in the same way the march of technology does. It ends with the naivety of hope, but with a call that is not unprecedented. The book also reprints the powerful work - The Death Penalty 

This book features two plays that tell two stories of dissent and change. Didi I.A.S. is about a bureaucratic conspiracy to curb anti – establishment art by creating an Indian Artistic Service. But even when all artistic opposition has been mollified and institutionalised, an innocent voice breaks free. In Lalaji Ne School Banaya Hai a nationalist in British India fights for the common man’s right to give his children an education reserved thus far for the privileged and princely class. 

Dev is a married man having an affair with Divya, his colleague and how their illicit relationship breaks down, due to the inherent nature of their romance. The play is an exploration of tabooed relationships and how they crumble. How passion stokes its way to love. How great love brings desire, possessiveness and jealousy as its handmaidens. And how they corrode the harmony and humanity of two people in love; irrespective of their gender or sexual orientation.