"Kanjoos" - a theatrical ride on the swing of satire and emotion

Kanjoos , The Miser, RangForum

Play Review -By Rajesh Shrivastava

"Kanjoos" is an imprtant creation of the Theater World from the perspective of its depiction of the dehumanizing effects of wealth accumulation, which is famous for its sharp satire, dialogusand commentry  on the pitfalls of greed.

This is an Indian adaptation of Moliere's original work "The Miser". However, despite the long gap between the present time and the contemporary period and circumstances in which the play was composed, the play still remains relevant.

Upon closer examination, the play itself conveys a serious message beyond a comedy through the idiosyncrasies of a miserly protagonist. It is a nuanced exploration of human nature, social norms and the corrosive effects of relentless greed.

The play's central character, Mirza Sakhwat Wegh, through his obsessive hoarding and money-stealing ways, the play's plot swings the audience on a carousel of unbridled greed and moral bankruptcy. 

In this, sometimes the audience laughs along with the characters at the humorous moments and sometimes gets horrified at the actions of Mirza, who dives into the abyss of immorality.

The staging of the play was quite simple. Effective experiments were done to show the time periods, places and environment by combining more lighting with more decoration. There was good coordination between the characters also.

The effect of Mirza Baig's miserliness was clearly visible in the attire of the characters. One of the live spots was the actress playing the aunt's character.

Vibrant colours of her constumes with her bubbly character made her performance electrifying even in the shadow of miser. The background music was effective and kept the flow of the drama going throughout.

Manish Bohre played the role of Mirza Shakhbat bajg, Vishesh Tiwari played the role of Nasir, Priya Goswami played the role of Azra, Farooq - Bhaskar Thakur, Farzeena - Sia Chaubey, Maryam - Anjali Jain, Lemon - Vishwajeet Daheria, Alfu - Ashwani Sahu, Khera - Prasanna Vishwakarma, Havildar - Shivam Tripathi, Aslam/Dalal - Krishna Devalia performed well.

Play directed by Vandana Vashishtha, light and set was of Sangeet Srivastava, music given  by - Avikal Srivastava and Ashwini Sagar and  clothing design was done by Yasha Srivastava and Prasanna Vishwakarma .