Written by CK Lal and directed by Sunil Pokharel, the one-hour-plus play featuring well-known actors such as Nisha Sharma Pokharel and Sanjeev Upreti is gripping; however, only while it lasts.[break]
Sapanako Sabiti tells the story of protagonist Sapana, played by Nisha Sharma Pokharel, and how she ends up in Kathmandu as a traffic police officer. To help narrate the story is Drasta, played by Sanjeev Upreti, the author of the novel, “Ghanchakkar.”
The play, set against a rather harsh lighting throughout, begins with the protagonist Sapana as a traffic police officer and her monologues.
We are taken back in time to when Sapana was a teenager, and how she went in search of her foreign photojournalist lover, and how she turns into Comrade Himshila and fights in the People’s Movement; how she is tortured by the army, and then rescued by a Muslim man, works as a teacher, and then finally moves to Kathmandu.
The story flows with various supporting characters moving in and out, each of whom has put on brilliant performances, as expected of Gurukul actors. Instead of being a conversation between characters, most of the play addresses the audiences directly with monologues.
Poignant scenes by Pokharel in front of the mirror, witty lines, mocking the contemporary society, and sound cues that effectively amplify the drama, the play engages you, and is satisfactory.
Playwright Lal, both in the beginning and the end, stresses the story of Sapana to be a “fictional truth.”
Sapana is a ‘fictional’ Nepali woman who has suffered during the ‘real’ People’s Movement. She is presented as the symbol of generic Nepali women, especially given the fact that her last name is never certain through the entire play. Sapana comes across as a highly spirited woman who never gives up. Despite all the pains she goes through, she is always jovial. Sapana, as a character, is therefore somewhat over romanticized.
But then again, it is up to the viewers to interpret the story. Regardless of personal interpretations, one message that Lal is trying to send across, through Sapanako Sabiti is clear – Never stop dreaming.
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