A not-so-sanskaari saas-bahu jodi sings, drinks and dances together

Embracing life with open arms, accepting its ups and downs while smiling, partying and just being themselves – this is what brings five women from different backgrounds together. Written by Smita Bansal of 'Balika Vadhu' fame, 'Hello Zindagi' contains every cliché you’d expect to see in a play with an all-women cast. From women getting drunk till they pass out and doing tod fod in a swanky club, to talking frankly about sex, to abusing or flirting with a policewala…the play ticks all the boxes.Yet it does not feel forced, thanks to the natural, effortless acting of its ensemble cast.
Bakula Sisodia (Delnaaz Irani), a top businesswoman of Ahmedabad, has abandoned her “sharaabi, juaari and sweet talker” son, Amit, and lives in Mumbai with her former-daughter-in-law Pammi Singh (Minissha Lamba), a yesteryear actress, now a damsel-in-distress, both in personal and professional lives. Living in a posh flat in Mumbai, they make for a “saras saas-bahu jodi” who eat, drink, dance and party together and accept each other’s quirks.
Smita Bansal, writer
Other supporting characters are reduced to a cultural stereotype and mined for easy laughs: A strict, badass Haryanvi girl Shivani (Chitrashi Rawat of 'Chak De! India' fame), who runs the house and manages Bakula’s resort, giving us a Chak De! hangover, and Bijoya Di (Guddi Maruti), the domestic help in the madhouse, who with her quintessential Bengali accent makes for an endearing character. Thrown into this mix is Sheena (Kishwer Merchant), Pammi’s school friend, battling domestic violence.
The tone shifts abruptly in the play’s second half when Vicky (Rahul Nayyar) enters the scene and falls in love with Pammi. He wants to marry her and take her to America, and the entire girl gang decides to go along.
Raman Kumar, director
In this three-hour-long play, you can’t help but cheer for these women as they let their hair down, dance, laugh, breakdown and express their strengths and weaknesses. It’s easy to dismiss them as caricatures, except that their conflicts feel genuine and relatable.
Hello Zindagi is a mix of slapstick gags and sometimes, cringeworthy pati parmeshwar jokes. This is one of those mainstream plays that delivers its message packed with melodrama. And it works. Using humour and pathos, it sends across the simple message – Life is simple, we insist on making it complicated. You’ll be happy to spend three hours in the company of these ladies, dancing, singing or crying with them.
So decide for yourself if you want to do some saas-bahu bonding this weekend, or change your perspective towards life and start uncomplicating it for good.