Khalid Mohamed’s Kennedy Bridge, a bridge to nowhere much

By Deepa Deosthalee Like the three films he wrote for Shyam Benegal — Sardari Begum, Mammo and Zubeidaa — critic-filmmaker Khalid Mohamed’s theatrical foray, Kennedy Bridge draws from his childhood memories (for the uninitiated, Kennedy Bridge is an area in Mumbai’s Grant Road, once infamous for its brothels, and ironically, for Congress House, the headquarters of the Congress party). The protagonist, Jahaan (Manav Gohil — very awkward — and two adorable boys Hritik and Yash Belani, who save the character) is the author’s alter ego, a journalist trying to piece together fragments from his past to resolve an unfinished business involving a prostitute called Shehzadi (Richa Chadda, the play’s nemesis), the enduring love of his childhood who vanished from his life leaving the orphaned boy feeling abandoned all over again. [caption id=“attachment_63739” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Kennedy Bridge is a novel attempt in terms of its scale (lavish) and the mixed media it employs. Image courtesy: Film Impressions”]  [/caption] Kennedy Bridge is a novel attempt in terms of its scale (lavish) and the mixed media it employs. A video screen projects colourful images, everything from movie stars to old Mumbai streets, collages of a bygone era and Akbar Padamsee’s evocative paintings as a backdrop to the musical, which are by far the most interesting element in the production. The script — it really appears to be a film script adapted to theatre rather than a piece written specifically for the stage — is replete with clichés and high on melodrama. This could have worked in a kitschy sort of way. Unfortunately, a dragging directorial style (long pauses and dialogue-heavy scenes that don’t bear out the portentous import perhaps intended), uninspiring music by Himesh Reshammiya and the lead pair’s lacklustre performances, mar the experience. It is the supporting cast of Achint Kaur (as Shehzadi’s godmother and the reigning queen of the Kennedy Bridge compound) and Asif Ali Beg as the lackey eunuch who salvage the act from its air of self-indulgence. The relationship between Shehzadi and Jahaan, the core of the play, unfolds in a park where she rescues him from a near accident and he starts asking her innocent questions and openly displays his adoration for her. She finds in him a respite from her miserable life back at the brothel where her godmother exploits her to the hilt and even forces her to abort her unborn child — an episode that becomes the defining moment of her life. Everything that has ever been imagined about a prostitute’s life is here, but it leaves you largely unmoved. Even Shehzadi’s soliloquy following the abortion doesn’t hit the right register. Mohamed’s script, while heartfelt, lacks the sharpness and insight necessary to engage an audience. Between the writing and the acting, the grandeur of the production loses its sheen and we’re left with a halfway play, neither full-scale commercial melodrama, nor a great work of art. Note: Kennedy Bridge plays at St Andrew’s on20 Aug and the NCPA on 21 Aug in Mumbai. This piece is an edited version of a review from the theatre appreciation website Stage Impressions.