If you thought Twisted Love by Poochu’s Productions made you roll on the floor, wait till we tell you the backstory leading to a love story as twisted as Twisted Love. As a prequel to the well appreciated and loved play that was staged last year, Poochu’s Productions is here with Muttal Kadhal. Directed by Ramee, the play promises plenty of laughs. “Even in the serious scenes, we’ve tried to put in comic elements,” says Ramee, who is making his directorial debut with this play.
He adds, “I always wanted to do a Tamil musical, and when I mentioned the same to Denver (Anthony Nicholas); he said, ‘If you want to make a Tamil musical, you direct it’. That’s how it all began. I wrote the script where I tried to incorporate all the characters, who were a part of Twisted Love.”
Why prequel instead of a sequel, we ask, and Ramee tells us, “The sequel is in progress, we haven’t done the script yet, but Denver is on it. For me, I thought of doing a prequel to one of our best received plays, simply because I didn’t want to write a new musical and find it hard to put on stage.”
The story starts with the usual — a one-sided love; a friend falling in love with another friend. “The base of the story is to bring four different people together and share their love. There are two sets of close friends — Bill and Dylan; and Emily and Ashley (they are characters from Twisted Love). So at first, Bill falls in love with Dylan, and Ashley falls in love with Emily. However, eventually, with some twists and turns, that are hilarious to say the least, Bill and Emily fall in love! And that leaves Dylan and Ashley heart-broken. But does the story end there? Of course not! It’s called stupid love for a reason,” laughs Ramee.
The director has treated every serious scene with a touch of comedy. “There are sentiments, but that immediately jumps into comedy,” he says.
This is the first Tamil musical by Poochu’s Productions and needless to say, there are going to be songs aplenty in the play. Craig Lobo, who is taking care of the music, tells us, “It’s all Ramee’s idea when it comes to the music. We’re kicking off the musical with a blast from the ’90s — Urvasi Urvasi by A R Rahman sets the tone. Our goal is to engage people of all ages and ignite their musical enthusiasm from the very beginning. Alongside, two other songs will deeply move the audience. One is Usuru Narambula Nee from Irudhi Suttru, capturing the pain of unexpressed love, enhancing the scene’s beauty. The second is Nee Partha from Hey Ram, a highlight of the show. It perfectly conveys my gratitude for the love I’ve received from my dear ones, and the singer’s performance will add an even more enchanting touch.”
Before signing off, Ramee lets us in on something: “There are a lot of hidden things in this play, a lot of cameos, surprise entries, et al. So, watch out.”
Tickets at Rs 350.
As a special first show, the Friday
3 pm show tickets are
at Rs 150 & Rs 250.
August 25 & 26, 3 pm and 7 pm.
At Alliance Française of Madras, Nungambakkam.
Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @rupsjain