The Blue Mug

Watched "The Blue Mug" at Rangashankara yesterday. And it was fabulous, so much so that I'll prob'ly watch it again when I get a chance.

At its centre, four characters constructed bits and pieces of their past as they remember it... significant and insignificant moments - which sprung to their minds as they speak... collecting glass from broken bottles at the sea shore as a little girl, ubiquitous delhi family gatherings complete with the lassi, watermelons, bhuttas, being stacked up at the top of a cupboard by the teacher, playing jehangir in a college play... ordinary, embarrassing, strange, funny, tragic and inexplicable incidents... sometimes even struggling to separate the truth from fiction in their hazy memories.

Then there was the story of Joginder Chauhan, a man of 40s who was "stuck in 1980", as a permanent memory dysfunction left him adrift on a perpetual stream of present moments, while memories of himself and his family from twenty five years ago clung to him with the clarity of the present. The character of Joginder was so brilliantly played by Ranvir Sheroy... the unrefined language, with the typical touch of punjabi felt so very very genuine, it was absolutely incredible that this person who I knew as a smooth Channel-V VJ was playing the role. Unforgettable.

The other actors - Rajat Kapoor (of Monsoon Wedding and DCH fame), Joy Fernandes, Vinay Pathak (another Channel-V VJ), Sheeba Chaddha and Niloufer - were fabulous in their roles as well.