The creative engine behind Chikku Bukku Kalyanam’s runaway humour

There’s a moment in every journey, physical or emotional, when the tracks beneath us shift almost imperceptibly. One small decision, one missed signal, one unexpected co-traveller, and suddenly you’re on a different train than the one you meant to board. That slippage between intention and accident is where the chaos and magic of Karpanai Kudhirai’s new Tamil screwball comedy Chikku Bukku Kalyanam unfolds. And like the best of comedies, from Shakespeare’s mistaken-identity capers to Oscar Wilde’s razor-sharp social satires, this play asks a timeless question: what happens when life goes off-script, and the only thing left to do is laugh?

What to expect from Chikku Bukku Kalyanam, the one-location comedy

Director Vedarun Rajkumar explains that the first spark came from an artistic constraint. “I’ve always been fascinated by plays that follow the unity of time and space, stories that unfold in a single location without major time jumps… the first spark for this play was the idea of setting one entirely inside a train.” A train compartment, with its sliding doors and rattling windows, becomes a crucible of human behaviour.

When asked about the kind of precision screwball comedy demands, he points to a small but significant directorial choice: there are absolutely no set changes or breaks between scenes. The entire 90-minute runtime unfolds as one continuous stretch, a deliberate decision to keep the audience engaged without losing even a second to blackouts or resets. “The invisible transitions take precision, and even if the audience doesn’t notice them, that flow is what keeps the comedy sharp and fast-paced,” he shares. This reminds us of Aristotle’s classical unities or of Beckett’s experiments with minimal settings, how confinement often expands creativity.

Reflecting on what comedy can reveal that drama sometimes can’t, Raghavan, who plays an upright TTE, recalls a line the director often quotes: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” There are many moments in the play that convey deeper ideas without the preaching that typical drama often risks. In that sense, he says, comedy works like “a vaccine without the needle pricks.”

Subiksha Shridharan, who plays Ananya in Chikku Bukku Kalyanam, says her biggest hope is simple: joy. “Honestly, I don't think I want people to think at all,” she laughs.

On whether the play changed her ideas about romance, she says it didn’t shift her worldview, but it did reaffirm something essential. “Everybody needs love — the optimist needs love, the pessimist needs love, even the thief needs love,” she says. For her, the story shows that love often appears when the chase stops. “I don't think chasing it is the right way to go about it. True love will find you. And you should keep a check on your expectations and accept people even if they’re a kleptomaniac or not what you expected.”

The ensemble hopes to leave audiences lighter on their way home. Paramesh Sathya, who plays Matthew, says, “Hours later, when they’re back home doing chores, something clicks and they suddenly burst out laughing — just remembering a joke from this play.” The director shares the same sentiment as he signs off with, “If they leave the theatre smiling, quoting the play, that’s perfect for me.”

From Rs 350 onwards. From 6 pm to 7.30 pm. At Arena – The Art Experience, Injambakkam.

Email: shivani@newindianexpress.com
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