“Popcorn” Play by Sankalp Rangmandal at St. Thomas School
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Today, on June 24, 2024, Sankalp Rangmandal Shimla, supported by the Department of Language and Culture of Himachal Pradesh, staged a play titled “Popcorn” at St. Thomas School in Shimla. This solo play was directed by Kedar Thakur and featured Anil Sharma as the actor. The play was performed in front of school students.
The special aspect of this play was its focus not solely on entertaining the audience but also on educating society. It narrated a story that included autobiographical compositions, comedic performances, novel adaptations, vaudeville, poetry, and more.
The play begins with a scene at a railway station where the protagonist, a popcorn seller, revolves around and observes various aspects of society. He raises questions about prevalent evils and their causes. The story starts when the popcorn seller learns that Tukiya, a mentally weak woman, was raped by a man selling fruit whom he knows well and thinks about where society is really going.
When he finds out, he tries to argue why a mentally healthy person would rape a mentally ill woman and concludes that everyone is living to fulfill their greed rather than fulfilling their needs.
This play forces viewers to think that in today’s time people only think about physical benefits, but there is no time to think about becoming a good person. Seen from the perspective of popcorn fans, theater lovers can understand the reality of our society.
Principal Vidhupriya Chakraborty said that such plays give a social message and should be learned by today’s youth, she also said that such social plays will be held in the school in the future
