‘I would think twice before writing political satire today’: Bharat Dabholkar on his new play Jigsaw

There was a time when Bharat Dabholkar could turn politicians, parties and the absurdities of public life into comedy. Today, he says, he would be much more cautious. “Way more difficult,” he says when asked about writing political satire now. “Today, if I had to do that, I would be very worried about what I was writing because everybody has become so sensitive.”

Bharat has written and directed more than 30 plays, including the Bottoms Up series, Oh No! Not Again!! and Blame It on Yashraj.

Bharat’s latest play Jigsaw unfolds over a single evening, as two strangers find themselves together in an isolated house, with secrets and shifting truths coming to the surface. Bharat also directs the play, which premieres at NCPA Experimental Theatre on September 20.

Excerpts from our exclusive conversation with Bharat:

Most of your plays are comedies. Why did you choose a psychological thriller this time?

I had never done a psychological thriller before. When I was working on the script, I realised that every page you turned had a new twist that you couldn’t believe was really happening. I thought, if this is so engrossing on paper, just imagine what it would do to an audience when performed on stage. So, this was a new experiment for me.

Jigsaw has only two characters. Does that make it more difficult to sustain a thriller on stage?

Absolutely. There are lots of thrillers, but most of them are whodunnits and murder mysteries with many people on stage. Here, it’s just two people talking to each other from the word ‘go’ till the play ends. That’s what makes it so difficult and also so interesting.

Is it becoming harder to convince audiences to spend on a play with the OTT boom?

Theatre is expensive. You have to pay for the theatre, advertising, actors and everything else. Today, people can watch a film for a few hundred rupees, so why would they want to spend ₹2,000–3,000 and come out to watch a play, especially when they may not know the actors?

With Jigsaw, there are only two actors. That makes it easier to travel and take the play to smaller venues and towns.

How difficult would it be to do political satire today?

Way more difficult. Today, if I had to do that, I would be very worried about what I was writing because everybody has become so sensitive.

Earlier, I could make fun of Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Jayalalithaa — politicians across the spectrum. Today, people are much more sensitive and they can take things personally.