The band players are tired, complaining how little their lives matter to the people they work for. They barely make money, stay away long hours from the family and are poorly fed except through stories of the weddings they witness. Then comes the band leader Laddu, who, on his career’s 100th wedding function, decides to tell the tale of a unique love story. Except the story is far from unusual.It is a trope that has travelled across both Bollywood and Hollywood. Where the ladka and ladki can’t stand each other in real life, but are, in fact, secretly courting. Think Shah Rukh Khan Anushka Sharma’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, or Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks movie You’ve Got Mail. Except in Laddu, the WhatsApp messages replace the mails.Sharad and Surabhi are of marriageable age. But they don’t want to settle for an arranged marriage, wanting instead to experience the thrill of first love. However, as fate would have it, they do end up together in a marriage, only to find that they would rather engage in a connection outside of their bond, than invest in a relationship they had entered.Directed by Amul Sagar, the comedy drama borrows heavily from Bollywood – right from its cadence, jokes to even some of its predictable dialogues. It punches down on the wife via easy fat jokes and even includes an over-the-top dramatisation of the “first night” instructions the groom’s father gives to his petrified son.The production’s use of the stage is one of its USPs. The band members are not just narrators but active participants, with audience interactions creating a sense of a wedding unfolding in real time. The poetic dialogues and lilting lines add a certain charm to the storytelling, giving Laddu a distinct character beyond its familiar romantic drama setting.Despite its predictability, several jokes land, and the world-building is done well. Laddu is at its most convincing when it observes the conversations surrounding marriage, dowry and class, also involving a pandit figure for some comic relief. A special shout-out to Simran Singh – the bride’s mother – who brings much of the laughs and emotional warmth.However, when the romance begins, Laddu loses its sharpness and bounce. The audience understands and gets to see Sharad’s search and longing for love, but that compassion is missing when the lens shifts to the wife, Surabhi. Her emotional labour and multiple attempts at repair, which could have been the critical core of the drama, receives far less attention in favour of a more commercial-style happy ending.
Want us to review your play? Mail us at tims.delhitimes@timesofindia.com
-Anvita Singh
