Life Less Perfect

Watching Dolly Ahluwalia and Swaroopa Ghosh,of Vicky Donor fame,play a Punjabi and Bengali mother respectively,isn’t exactly a novel experience. Although,to be fair,when Ahluwalia speaks in Punjabi,one automatically smiles at the theatrics,while Ghosh’s stern yet pensive tones make an instant connect. Jug Jug Jiyo,a 70-minute Hinglish play,that spans one night,involves two friends and their secrets. The play was performed at India Habitat Center on Saturday and Sunday evening. Directed by Smita Bharti,founder of Sakshi,an NGO that works towards women empowerment and education,Jug Jug Jiyo deals with themes of female foeticide and pre-marital sex. Simran (Ahluwalia) and Samyukta (Ghosh) are two friends who live together. Their children Siraj and Sia from Mumbai,who are also childhood sweethearts,come for a visit. Sia is pregnant,and wants to come clean about their relationship. This leads to a whirlwind of secrets about unborn children and unknown fathers. Jyotsna Sharma and Rachit Behl,both theatre regulars,who play Siraj and Sia,switch effortlessly between being dramatic and sombre. The play is described as a witty,dark comedy,rightfully so,because it kept moving back and forth in mood. Jug Jug Jiyo’s stars were clearly Ghosh and Ahluwalia,who had instant chemistry and drew the audience into their unfolding world.