Adaptations are seldom better than the original. And if there has been more than one adaptation of the same work, in this case, author Chetan Bhagat’s bestselling and familiar novel Five Point Someone, where there are almost no possibilities of surprising the audience, if you’ve still managed to do a better job than the original, it definitely counts for something. Something big, considering the mass appeal that Bhagat’s book had.
Staging the play as part of their tenth year anniversary celebrations to a packed house on Saturday, city-based theatre company Evam did more than complete justice to Bhagat’s book. If simple writing was one thing that Bhagat has been criticised for, Evam took exactly that and turned it into an advantage.
The narrator, from the sidelines of the stage, takes us through the lives of three friends in IIT – Alok, Ryan and Hari (The younger narrator). As they go through difficult viva sessions and fret over low GPAs and not to forget girl problems and family pressures, it’s hard not to relate with the boys and immediately be hit by a wave of nostalgia. Where Sunil Vishnu K succeeded as a director was in picking the best bits from the book, be it the drunken escapades on the terrace or the scene where Hari makes love to his girlfriend for the first time (Where nothing was surprisingly crass).
Karthik Kumar as the narrator seamlessly switched between past and present and with his nonchalant narrative, took the audience along in his journey effortlessly. Naveen Richard as Hari was as plain as the character required him to be, mostly nailing the gestures and expressions required of him. If you’ve read the book, you know that Ryan is tall, handsome, confident and carefree and Avinash Rajendran was exactly that. Bhargav Ramakrishnan, is no doubt, the highlight of the play. His flabby, innocent charm and impeccable timing makes it extremely hard for one not to sympathise with his problems and even go ‘awww’ a couple of times.
Amrutha Varshini as Neha, Hari’s love interest was a delight to watch.
With effective lights by Kripa Shankar, set design by Preethu GN Chaganty and sound by Vasanth Subramaniam, the play also had Anand Nagarkar and Deeban Chakravarthy as professors.
Summing it up, Evam’s version of Five Point Someone was one of those rare plays where the audience are so involved with what’s happening on stage that much after the actors have moved to the next scene, the laughter from the previous hasn’t died out.
Well, if you belong to the tribe that laps up anything Bhagat puts out, Evam’s adaptation will make you want to pick up Five Point Someone for a quick read before hitting bed. But on the other hand, if you’re one of those strong Bhagat haters, well, you can at least say you gave it a shot!
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