New play to recollect Kalpana Chawla's space odyssey with a rural twist

After taking audience back to the Bombay of the black and white era with Atul Kumar's "Detective Nau-Do-Gyarah" last month, a new play is now all set to take viewers on a journey to the outer space.

Organised by Aadyam, a theatre initiative by Aditya Birla Group, "Hello Farmaaish", will open on September 22 here at Kamani Auditorium.

A heartening tale of a group of village misfits trying to track astronaut Kalpana Chawla's space mission, the theatrical production explores the protagonist's imagination and misadventures.

Directed by Yuki Ellias and produced by Dur Se Brothers, the play is based on the concept of women-run community radio stations in rural India and unfolds simultaneously with Kalpana Chawla's 2003 voyage on space shuttle Colombia.

It is a story of Minaz, a young, morbid girl and General Gita, her older irate teacher in a remote village, who find the reportage of Chawla's mission on Akashwani boring.

Taking matter into their own hands they take over radio frequencies from the local radio jockey, which led to their journey of shuffling between their lost hamlet and the unexplored night sky.

"One minute you're hurled into outer space, and the very next minute you're hurled back into the small Haryanvi settlement. It's (the play) imagination meets science fiction meets realism meets everything else," describes the director.

The quest is also peppered with an original score and singing, and is led by actors like Puja Sarup, Priyanka Setia, and Abhishek Chauhan.

Notably, Ellias and script writer Sneh Sapru have previously collaborated on the widely acclaimed solo play, "Elephant In The Room", which received multiple META awards and nominations.