'100 Din Chor Kay': Reviving era of farce comedy

Comedy has existed for as long as the existence of humankind because what is a life without a pinch of laughter? Hence, the Karachi Arts Council brought ‘100 Din Chor Kay’ to put the audience through laughing fits by depicting real-life situations in form of ‘farce comedy’.

What is farce comedy?

Farce comedy is a genre of humour that arises from absurdity. The mockery is usually based on real-life situations but sprinkling a ludicrous element to make jokes out of it is what makes farce comedy stand out. It is also big on physical humour as the use of daily life situations is involved.

The review

The idea of the play revolves around that one lie gives birth to hundred more lies, as per a famous idiom from Urdu. It is an adaptation of Cash on Delivery which is a legendary play by Michael Cooney. The main character of the play is a man, Amir Hassan, who scams government-funded welfare programmes to his advantage, and one day, when trouble knocks on his door, the situation takes a frenetic turn, intensifying the humour through farce element.

The set of the play is a middle-class house, with enough resources. The details have been designed with immaculate attention and it looks super close to reality. However, the acoustics of the play could have been better, because in some places the voices were jumbled right at the time of punch lines due to which the jokes were somehow disrupted.

The play also shed light on some ground and equally painful realities. A character that was talked about the most was Irshad, played by Nazar Ul Hassan, described how his fictional father lost his job to put the perspective of how cinema artists are constantly stuck in a cycle of struggles ever since Sultan Rahi passed away.

Fawad Khan, who was playing Amir Hassan, called the comedy "jismaani warzish ka khel" (play for physical exercise) in an exclusive interview with Geo News. Shedding light on his experience he said, "This is the first time I have worked with Zeeshan (director) and it is completely safe to say that so far, it has been a great experience. We’ve kept work and fun side by side due to which the play is a success."

Fawad had an ample amount of experience when it comes to theatrical performances. He previously directed Betaali Prem Ki Kattha which was a huge hit among the masses.

Irshad, a character who left the audience awestruck by his brilliant performance, played by Nazar Ul Hassan also talked about how he is overwhelmed by the response. He also talked about how he doesn’t really plan things because as an actor, he needs to go with the "flow".

Helmed by Zeeshan Haider, who has complete command over his art and is known for his work with Ms Marvel series, 100 Din Chor Kay, has been extended to 17th December due to the overwhelming response of the audience. Incorporating the brilliance of humour and acting, the play is a must-watch.

Banner image:  The cast of the play is standing in a row to end the play and gather applause. —Arts Council