Some say a miser is a capitalist gone mad. Behroopiya Entertainers have adopted the Moilerer's 'The Miser' into Punjabi (adaptation by which tells the story of a miser old man who wants to get his daughter and son married but not before he gets married himself to none other than his son's sweetheart.
Lalaji (Sahil Kapoor), has large amounts of money stashed away in 'Gold Coins' but is constantly looking to save money and make more. So he wants wants his daughter Billo (Nancy Rustagi) to get married to a rich old man because he will not have to give 'dowry' but has no qualms in expecting dowry for his son Jassi's (Mudit Malik) and his own marriage. The daughter is very much in love with a guy who saved her life and the guy is now a loyal brown nosed servant Sukhi (played by Himanshu Mahajan) to Lalaji to win his heart and approval. The other loud mouthed, sarcastic servant Nambu (played by Pranav Midha) leaves no opportunity to tease lalaji.
I felt a little disappointed as I had great expectations - having seen 'Run for your wife' (another production by Behroopiya). I was hoping to be rolling on the floor but most scenes, expect for scenes featuring Lalaji and Nambu were flat. Another character which tickles the funny bone is the character of Kuljeet bua (Nancy Arora) who can sweet talk people into doing what she wants. Jassi ended up shouting through most of his stage time. Punjabi language is energetic, expressive and funny on its own but script was a little let down. The play allowed for several comic situations but the opportunity was not fully utilised. While "Run for your wife" was a constant twisting and turning race track, this one was more of a straight highway with some sharp turns of fun. The play hit a low in the end when all the fun and laughter just fizzled out. Mrinal Dhar's direction was good but it was mostly the script which was a let down.
After a short break, the stand up act 'Hi-Punj' was opened by Nancy Rustagi with a small but original and entertaining act. Sahil Kapoor and Pranav Midha presented the main standup act. There were some original pieces and the pair delivered them pretty well. However, several jokes were old and that is not what I expected. Stand up acts should be original. They pair has tremendous potential and if they get the script right, they can do wonders. I think Nancy too has great potential as a stand up comic and I would love to see more women doing stand up comedy.
