Yesteryear icons of Romance Relived once again in “Love Online – The Bollywood Café”

Dilip Guha, New Delhi: Delhi NCR based, renowned The Kanupriya Theatre Company staged their Iconic Retro Romance Musical Play “Love Online – The Bollywood Café” at Kamani Auditorium, in the capital recently.

A captivating romantic Hindi-English musical comedy play that pays homage to the enchanting Retro Romance Era of Bollywood has been written & created by the popular Actor-Writer-Director late Mrs. Kanupriya who has left an unforgettable impact on her audience and students alike. Her team carries the baton on their shoulders and for the first time, gave an experience of a blend between Old School Romance and New-age Love.

The play was directed by Aakshay Yaduvanshi a prominent theatre director, playwright, actor, and known for his creative vision.

The cast featured renowned actor and comedian Rakesh Bedi, in the lead role of Yash. He is known for his comedic brilliance in films like “Chashme Buddoor” and popular Doordarshan shows such as “Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi” along with the versatile theatre personas and television actresses Gunjan Shukla Sharma and Rajshree Seem.

The storyline of the heartwarming play revolves around the serendipitous encounter of two strangers, Yash & Payal, in the virtual realm of Bollywood fandom. Both are passionate admirers of Vintage Bollywood, embarking on an enchanting journey of friendship and romance, engaging in lively online conversations filled with their favourite songs from the bygone era. However, there’s a twist – Yash and Payal can only express themselves through beloved Bollywood melodies, adding musical enchantment to their interactions.

The love story developed between Yash and Payal has raised many questions about the relationship between a divorcee and a widow. After a battle of 10 years, Yash got a divorce but Payal is still worried about the truth of their relationship and does not know how to share it with her grown-up daughter.

There are many questions about their relationship. Will their families and society accept their relationship? How society will react to this scenario? But as the song says ‘ Pyar kiya to darna kya ‘

As the audience delves deeper into the play, they stepped into a world of legendary stars, where iconic moments from Madhubala’s Anarkali, Dev Anand’s charismatic charm, Sadhna’s simplicity, Shammi’s electrifying dance moves, the graceful Nargis, and the enigmatic presence of Rajesh Khanna come alive through over twenty mesmerizing songs and dazzling dance performances. Ultimately, their love wins and they went ahead with their relationship.

This delightful theatrical production brings a fun-filled family-friendly experience and immersed the audience in the magical world of the vintage era of Bollywood.

In terms of performance, Rakesh Bedi’s performance was mesmerizing and his voice modulation was superb as usual.

Rajshree Seem’s excellent performance in the role of Payal moved the audience.

Guncha Kanupriya, the narrator of the play narrated the story in an impressive manner and linked the sequences effectively. It triggered the audience with retro songs and dances. She stunned everyone with her dancing skills. She also choreographed all dance performances neatly.

With the use of a minimal yet effective stage setting, a beautiful play of lights and music rendered mellifluous, artfully used to heighten the emotions or mark the transition of scenes depicted in a very competent direction.

The play features a stellar cast of proficient actors from the Kanupriya Theatre including Arin Sharma, Aakash Kumar, Gaurav Ahuja, Reema Vashisht Jasra, Abhishek Mishra, Shaswat Tyagi, Shubhangi Anand, Mohit Joshi, Ishita Saxena, Anupreeta Chatterjee, Akshat, Hritish Kansal, among others

The play succeeded in bringing a backward Journey to re-visit yesteryear the icons of Romance and relive Rajesh Khanna’s style, the ada of Nargis, Dev Anand’s charm, Kishore Kumar’s comedy and boldly ask “Jab Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya?” etc