Ek Theke Baro

I'd read about Twelve Angry Men, saw the movie, Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, but when I witnessed Ek Theke Baro on stage, based on the same story, the experience was electrifying!

The fate of a young ruffian hangs in the balance as twelve jurors deliberate in a closed room to decide on the accused. What will be the decision - will it be the deathly gallows or freedom?Eleven seems certain about the boy's crime while only one has doubts. And here begins the drama. A single case, a focused plot, a single room with a goal for a single decision. But a dozen persons with a dozen views, a dozen perspectives and a dozen traits that they represent had apparently at least a dozen reasons to differ!

But the court wants a decision unanimous and so starts the deliberation. Locked in a room till the decision is reached, some goes hungry while others go impatient. Reason fights emotion while logic pits against bias. Passion prevails while irritation peaks. The sane fights the obsessed and the serious confronts the casual.

Can the truth be ever unveiled? Will the accused get the deserving judgement? The debate that started with the eleven convinced against the one favouring otherwise, not only unwraps the evidences in new light but also exposes the raw perspectives of the general populace. When prejudice unfurls its irrational fangs and obsession clouds judgement, the logical few will always be tasked with the difficult assignment of spelling out the right decisions against the impatiently arrogant and the impertinently ignorant.

Nandikar presents this tremendously thrilling drama directed by Saptarshi Maulik. The director also acts as one of the juries and is correctly critical in his performance as his character demands. Assisting him in direction is Arghya Dey Sarkar who is deputy to Maulik in direction but on stage, his characterisation as the stubbornly passionate and aggressively obstinate jury will easily keep him way ahead of the others. Barishan Chatterjee will deserve a special applause, representing the sober elderly with faith in the youth, in this Swatilekha Sengupta adaptation of the original. Sourav Dinda portrays the insignificant peon with no or only tiny crumbs of dialogues, who starts the proceedings and closes them as well, signing off with significance infused in the character, representing the contrastingly gentle regular worker with defined duties, a mind not unhinged by the stress of taking decision that matters!

The entire presentation is brilliant and will request the fans of drama to watch this display of passion where thrill will flow, emotions will engulf the audience, senses will writhe with the rage that arises on stage as you will never be certain till the very climax whether sanity will prevail and order restored. A fantastic compact presentation that will keep the audiences on edge throughout and time will fleet past with a pace accelerating yet surprisingly steady.

There is a very interesting caveat. There is a wallpiece on stage that runs on real time. Though the actual time will be different but audience may note the duration of the presentation from the clock, clearly in their view, and will surely appreciate the precision of acting in this dialogue intensive presentation that wraps up in style within the duration, announced at start, reflecting professionalism at its finest.

The Firm

A couple of school friends suggested me the particular title among few others when I confessed that my tryst with Grisham's had not been so appealing. Actually it was again a college mate who had convinced me to read The Pelican Brief, which being as fantastic as it is made me select The King of Torts for my next read. That was apparently where I stopped reading Grisham and was actually a bit scared of ever touching another. But as it happened, friends have a way with themselves. But I am grateful to them for their suggestions for which I again relished a Grisham after a great many days.
It starts with a hint of thrill in the opening few chapters but the revelation comes all of a sudden that actually unfolds the terrifying puzzle. A fresher hired from the law school by a rich yet unassuming firm dreams a lavish early retirement. The promise of a hefty paycheck annually amassed from the rich uncomplaining clientele with other luring perks that the professional peers could only dream of seemed more than satisfying. Infact, the firm seemed also to take particular interest in the associates to settle down with a family early. So Mitch, the rookie, tried to settle down with a hope to make himself the youngest partner in the history of the firm where he was hired. Little did he know that the firm actually had a secret of its own that is chillingly fearsome. He was lured into a cleverly conceived trap that made him an accomplice to crime from which escape and death seems synonymous. But fate had a surprising twist for him as law enforcers contact him with a warning of an impending doom. As he becomes suspicious, more so by an even curious revelation of the accidental deaths of previous employees, Mitch tries to think rationally. As he gives his ears to the investigators against orders from his senior colleagues he is shocked to learn a dangerous truth. As the law is hell bent to bust a racket of mob and lawyers, Mitch is held in the midst that makes life threateningly deceptive. Thus ensues fast paced cat and mouse chase where it is upto Mitch himself to get out from the clutches of assassins while assuring safety for friends and family. With help coming from curious quarters, the chase is fascinating yet fearful. The uniqueness of the narrative is the delayed introduction of the central theme after the primary characters are well introduced though the web of suspense is felt with clear hints that poses queries that is revealed in trickles.

A Thief in the Night

A short story collection featuring A J Raffles and his friend and accomplice, Bunny Manders who narrates some of their exploits and follows it up with an epilogue arranged as

• Out of Paradise
• The Chest of Silver
• The Rest Cure
• The Criminologists' Club
• The Field of Philippi
• A Bad Night
• A Trap to Catch a Cracksman
• The Spoils of Sacrilege
• The Raffles Relics
• The Last Word

All these pieces except the last two depicts the duo as amateur burglars with Raffles being the genius in the trade and Bunny his devoted follower who at times shows doubt at the dedication at the apparent spontaneous acts of his friend which is ultimately revealed as well thought improvisations of the master artist. The final pieces are at a later date when they are at their career's dusk and tragedy has struck and are thus a bit disjointed than the rest both in time and perspective but not in class. The crimes will however make the readers sometimes be sorry for the victims. Inspite of this the interesting part is that, an entire collection which depicts a character doing crimes, is never felt evil, rather the reader will enjoy the artful way these crimes are committed though the description might be a bit unnecessary lengthy at places. A novel character undoubtedly, this might be a revelation for readers of crime fictions who are more accustomed to look into the other side of narratives.