Apka Matlooba Number, a romantic comedy written and directed by Atif Siddique, staged at Aiwan e Quaid in Islamabad, and was an absolute treat to watch.
There was a time when Islamabad was the theatre capital of Pakistan. Almost every month, people of all age groups graced the Islamabad Club or the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) with their presence to watch a theatrical performance. While the PNCA still hosts theatrical productions every now and then, the kind of commercial theatre that appealed to the masses and ensured everyone laughed their hearts out seemed to have disappeared somewhere. The revival of cinema has somehow been the decline of quality commercial theatre in Islamabad because some of Islamabad’s best left the stage for the silver screen.
After a very long time the capital staged a play that appealed to the masses, which reminded one of the last decade when everyone used to queue up and beg friends for free passes to watch a play. Apka Matlooba Number, a romantic comedy written and directed by Atif Siddique and co-written by Hassan Jawad Rana, staged at Aiwan e Quaid in Islamabad, was an absolute treat to watch.
The play is an amusing take on the improbability of modern love and the pitfalls that nobody warns you about. “The play focuses on millennials,” Atif Siddique announced before the opening act. “We feel that while everyone is talking to them and selling to them, nobody is talking about them.”
The story revolves around Taimur, his one sided love interest Zara, who is way out of his league, and his two friends. Set in a popular coffee shop, Taimur’s friends are trying to get him out of the friend zone and pump him up for a so-called failsafe plan to make her fall in love with him. And since no story is complete without its love triangle, in comes Maria – the sweet girl who actually likes Taimur but he keeps friend zoning and ignoring her.
Taimur, being the loser that he is, actually has the audacity to call and tell his parents to prepare for the proposal they have to take to Zara’s house without even speaking to Zara in the first place. Interestingly, Taimur’s dad is no ordinary city dad, but the full-on no-nonsense Chaudhry Saab, who is coming tomorrow to meet the girl, and woe to anyone who may cross him in any way. He has no idea that his son is head-over-heels-friend-zoned and if he finds out that Taimur had him come all the way for nothing, Taimur’s in trouble.
What follows is a series of hysterical acts and plans that leaves the entire audience in stitches. One thing is for sure; Taimur faces one hilarious problem after the other till the last scene of the play, keeping the curiosity of whom he ends up with till the end.
The stage was nicely set – perfect for a coffee house where students show up all the time. It looked real and that played a great role in setting the mood for the script. The play scores well on most fronts; direction, story, dialogues and the actors made sure they did absolute justice to the director’s vision. Among the actors, the leads Mariam Saleem and Affan Mir did complete justice to their roles. Mariam as Zara was flawless as the diva that she portrayed and Affan as Taimur was funny, crazy and goofy – just what was expected from them. Salmaan Shaukat or ‘Slo’ as Islamabad likes to call him, added energy and life to the story as Yasir, Taimur’s friend who planned everything for him.
Speaking about performances, Moid Aslam who played the role of Rafique, the nosy waiter, can’t be ignored. Despite not having a lot of lines, he had stage presence and his performance added value to the play. His one-liners and expressions made everyone laugh and enjoy the play to the core. The supporting cast did a phenomenal job as well and Bushra Yamin as Mrs. Chaudhry was quite impressive, considering this was her first stage performance.
If critically reviewed, the only downfall of the play is that it could have been edited a bit. Slightly over one and a half hour, it stretched a bit towards the end. Had it been 15 minutes shorter, the story would have been tighter and definitely even better. But that didn’t stop people from enjoying the one-liners and the crazy antics.
In summary, the story shed light on everything that millennials face in their daily lives – friendships, young love, peer pressure, rebound relationships, marriage prospects and gender stereotypes – as well the general disconnect between one's self and the previous generation. There was definitely some food for thought between the hilarious scenes and the crazy story for all of us.
Verdict: MUST WATCH! The play is on till the May 14, 2018, and it’s definitely recommended!
