Discover, revel in the genius of Woody Allen

‘Woody Allen’s writings have got that spunk and sting, apart from great wit and humour to be adapted on stage effectively,’ says Saleem Shah.

If you are a Woody Allen fan and have missed the staging of Side Effects in the capital then here’s a chance for you to catch the play adapted and directed by Saleem Shah and acted by Shah and Vishal Singh. The play will be staged at Alliance Francaise on Saturday October 22 at 5 pm.

The three time Academy Award winning film director, writer, actor and playwright, Allen is best known for his dark humour and wit. His inherent quality to not take himself too seriously compels him to draw heavily from his love life and women psychology. Shah’s Side Effects is also inspired by Allen’s wittiest stories — “The Lunatic’s Tale”, “Retribution” and “Remembering Needleman”. In “The Lunatic’s Tale” we hear a sad tale of a ragpicker who was once a successful doctor. His extra-marital affairs led to his downfall. He is the narrator who tells his own story but not without inescapable sarcasm. In “Retribution”, a Parsi man — played by Vishal Singh — from Mumbai is very attracted to his girlfriend’s sister but eventually falls for his girlfriend’s mother. “Remembering Needleman” is about a funy condolence speech which is delivered by the friend of the deceased Professor Partho, a dental surgeon.

Shah is upbeat about his every performance. “We have already performed 50 odd shows in Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, etc. and plan to reach a century soon”, says Shah.

Woody Allen is considered difficult to comprehend but his style is wonderful. Shah says, “Woody Allen’s writings have got that spunk and sting, apart from great wit and humour to be adapted on stage effectively. As for choosing Side Effects, the title seemed apt for doing Woody Allen adaptations and what better way than to choose from stories from the same title/book!”

Allen’s works have been explosively and mind-alteringly funny but to adapt according to the Indian audience and bring out Allen’s funny side is a Herculean task. Shah agrees that it is tough but is “not impossible or improbable”. “First I had thought of doing it without adaptation, do it as it is with the European and foreign content but later changed my mind. His writings are greatly inspired by life around himself, his creative and love life, as lived in a metropolitan city. So it required a little bit of extra hard work from my side, a fortnight of sleepless nights, etc. and it was sorted out as best as possible”, Shah says.

Side Effects was written years ago that too in a different socio-cultural setting. Shah has changed the names of the characters and references, etc. to make the play suitable. He exudes confidence and explains, “Those points (changes/adaptations) in the script have become the most hilarious and identifiable portions of the play. The response to the play has been great and we have had standing ovations.”

Shah plays two diametrically opposite characters and yet finds a balance. “Both are great fun in their own way and I look forward to performing them as regularly as possible. Both are different characters and require great effort and are a challenge to do. I enjoy the challenge :)”, elucidates Shah.

So you have all the ingredients to make a play appealing — a world-famous playwright, an experienced director and actor like Shah and a solid support from Singh.

Shah believes that audiences everywhere are basically the same and that “if a play is worth their money, they will go for it. There are no good or bad audiences but only good or bad plays”, Shah says smiling.

Side Effects is a wonderful way to explore the universality of Woody Allen as well as to know how India has a talent pool of actors and directors who can take up the challenge of bringing Allen to you. Book your tickets and revel in the genius of Allen or discover him.