By Rahul Nair
Back in 2003, when Boston-based English theater group Stage Ensemble Theater Unit (SETU) began with a mission to highlight social issues, little did co-founder Subrata Das imagine that his experience of growing up in a remote West Bengal village in India, shoulder-to-shoulder with a bustling Muslim community would inspire the searing play When Gandhi and Mohammed Meet. The play spans multiple generations and continents and deals with the fraught subject of interfaith romance. Playwright and director Das said, “The idea of writing a play about interfaith marriage had been in the back of my mind for a few years. I witnessed the artificial social and religious boundaries that create significant obstacles to interfaith unions.”
On the face of it, the play is a simple narrative: Neel Gandhi from London and Mohammed Aslam from New Delhi meet at a scientific conference on AI in Bangalore, and bond over the shared challenge of intense opposition from families and friends to their interfaith relationships. The play delves into the profound religious divides within Indian society and beyond, culminating in a surprising twist that highlights the ineffectiveness of man-made divisions and challenge the essence of pure faith and spirituality. The choice of an AI conference as the milieu is not accidental. “As a scientific discipline that we apply to create human intelligence, AI tends to avoid any religious bias. The protagonists’ scientific backgrounds reinforce the play’s theme,” said Das.
As the play progresses, the audience is taken on a rollercoaster of emotions, from moments of hope to scenes of heart-wrenching despair. Set amid the heightened communal tension in recent years, the play’s structure is thought-provoking, with each scene building on the last to create a sense of mounting tension and anticipation. The narrative is linear, but shocks with a flashback “revelation scene” towards the end. It challenges the audience to reconsider their own assumptions and prejudices, and to recognize the artificial nature of the divisions that separate us. The dialogue is periodically interspersed with a few monologues that break the fourth wall, capturing the nuances of the characters’ experiences and emotions.
Coming close on the heels of Hush Hush, a successful comedy production mounted by SETU last year that had multiple re-runs and directed by Das, the ensemble’s biggest challenge was switching between genres. Rimi Sarkar, who plays a lead role, said, “Comedy thrives on quick timing and punchlines, while drama requires slower, more deliberate pacing to build tension and emotion. I needed to change my rhythm and dialogue delivery accordingly to fit my role here.” Both Sarkar and Jyothsna Luckshetty, who play central roles, had the added challenge of preparing for double roles. Luckshetty said, “For one of the dual roles, I had to learn to speak in a British accent which I hadn’t ever done before, so that was definitely a challenge while also remembering to switch to my long forgotten Indian English accent for the other.” “With tragedy, emotions are often universal—grief, loss, and pain naturally resonate with audiences. If the performance is honest and vulnerable, people will connect with it. Comedy, on the other hand, is incredibly nuanced. Timing, delivery, and tone all must be precise,” added Monisha Prakash who plays Sarkar’s mother.
And preparation is key. Cini Kannan, who plays the elder sister of one of the protagonists, said it includes “research on families who grew up and lived in the area the characters are from. What they wear, eat, drink, how they talk, their thoughts and beliefs, what changes they’ve seen in their life in the past few decades.” Hamida Hirani-Merchant, who also plays the elder sister in another cast, said it was “fortunate that the role is very similar to my life in a few aspects, which made preparing for the role much easier.” Ketan Dave, who plays the tragic father, said “Overcoming the big challenge of switching between comedy and tragedy is down to shifting and balancing tone, exercising control over pacing, and emotional resonance.” Dheeraj Prasad, a father in another cast, said he prepared by “understanding the character’s external and internal motivations, his physical attributes and body language, and then working to make it all natural and reactive to what is happening around you.”
Ujwal Wasekar, one of two sidekicks who play pivotal roles on opposite sides of the religious spectrum said, “The religious angle requires special preparation – given that Tariq is a Muslim from an underprivileged background and facing unemployment, it’s essential to grasp the nuances of his faith, the orthodoxy of his religious beliefs, his struggles, and how his environment impacts him during this difficult time.” The other sidekick Ajay Rathi added, “To prepare for this role, I watched several Hindi movies and web series featuring gangsters and criminals. These references have helped me learn the character’s style, language, and mannerisms.”
The production of When Gandhi and Mohammed Meet is a testament to the axiom of less is more. The set design is simple yet effective, with minimal props and backdrops that allow the focus to remain on the characters and their journey. The use of lighting and sound is particularly noteworthy, with subtle changes in tone and intensity used to heighten the emotional impact of key scenes.
The costumes are thoughtfully chosen to reflect the characters’ backgrounds and personalities, adding an additional layer of authenticity to the production. Said SETU co-founder Jayanti Bandyopadhyay who also dons the hat of costume director, “The challenges in this play are not about reflecting a past period but showing quick changes in costume within minutes – almost comparable to a magic show. The actress in the dual role switches from Hindu girl in India to a Muslim girl in London in less than 3 minutes. And an entire family ages 20 years in another scene within a span of ten minutes.” The direction is sharp and precise, with each scene carefully choreographed with apropos music and sound effects to maximize the dramatic impact of the story.
Within a run time of about 100 minutes, When Gandhi and Mohammed Meet shines a light on some of the most pressing issues facing Indian society and beyond. In this context, a quick look around the ensemble reveals a diverse cast and crew – Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Malayali, Bengali rub shoulders with Marathi, Gujarati, Rajput, Konkani, Punjabi and others. Reflecting the true spirit of the SETU mission of inverting social conundrums and embodying the mindset that seeks to resolve them.
When Gandhi and Mohammed Meet is a thought-provoking drama that challenges the audience. Through its exploration of interfaith love and the barriers that divide us, the play offers a powerful message that, upon reflection, seeks hope and unity. The characters of Neel and Mohammed are brought to life with sensitivity and depth, and their journey is one that will resonate with audiences long after the final curtain falls. It is a production that showcases the best of community theater: not only does it entertain but it also confronts and inspires, reminding us of the power of love and the shared humanity that binds us all.
And this ethos is not lost on the ensemble. Everyone brings something different to the collaboration. Manish Dhall, who plays a lead role and helps with publicity said that “community theater is more than just a stage—it’s a lifeline. It connects me with fellow actors and the audience in ways words can’t capture. Through it, I’ve found a family away from home, a place where I’m truly seen. It challenges me, pushes my boundaries.” Pranav Shukla, another lead character adds that “community theater has helped the community stay connected with each other and their origins, make the community more alive, spread awareness, question things, and grow together toward a more peaceful and happy life.”
When asked whether it was social change or community awareness that motivated his choice of controversial subjects, Das responded that was “both, but with a stronger focus on community awareness; social change is a consequence.”
After a remarkably successful run of ten sold out performances in Watertown MA, the play is embarking on two reruns of four shows each. The first set of shows will be at the Academy of Creative Arts in Burlington MA the third week of May, while the next set will have the ensemble New York city-bound to perform four shows at the Gural in Manhattan, the week before Thanksgiving in November. The ensemble features nearly forty actors in a double cast – Belief and Faith. Further details can be found at setu website.
Writer Rahul Nair lives in the Boston area and works in the financial industry. Photos are credited to Vasudha and Sanjay Kudrimoti. The posters are designed by Manish Dhall.
