'Selfie' @ Anna Adarsh College, Chennai!

It was a pioneering and one-of-its-kind production from the Department of English, Anna Adarsh College for Women, Anna Nagar, Chennai. Titled, 'SELFIE,' the play was directed by Mathivanan Rajendran & Nikhil Kedia.

The setting was perfect to a tee, at the Parmadevi Goyal Auditorium, and there was pin-drop silence as the theatre-beings walked on to the stage, with a chorus of HASHTAGS, beginning with, ‘THE SHOW STARTS NOW’ and a string of hashtag echoes to different tunes on stage.

Problems of all hues and colours beset a group of college students even as they gear up to face a future filled with grave uncertainties, turmoil, problems and challenges. But, the major problem with them all is that, they were all worried that they weren’t that good enough! Not that presentable type, which the world wants! Parallel screams on similar tunes echo to a different beat all across the stage.

‘I doubt myself! I don’t look good. What will people think of me’

‘I’m so conscious of my imperfections that I arrive early and disappear into the background.’

The girls are a harried lot as a diet high on calories makes them obese. The higher the cost, the higher the calories. So yes! Does your cuppa cost you Rupees Thirty? Then you’ve got 300 calories for takes!

Mom says, “It’s what on the inside that matters! But it’s actually ugly that comes from the inside. Beauty is from the outside. Yes, it is!” screams a voice, disgruntled and perturbed with each passing day. 

To another girl, it’s a different tune, when she says, “I just don’t want to end up with the thoughts of ending up with nobody!”

To yet another girl, “As I see it, the word SeLFIE is just two letters away from the word selfish!”

The extent to which the digital has swayed the characters is shown through numerous examples. One such shot –

Is this seat taken?

Is this seat taken?

You… adiye you…

No! not at all!

Bespeaks to the linguistic crossfertilisation of the theatrical enterprise which had rapturous applause to every vibrant tune of the performers on stage!

A girl, who gets drunk along with her friends at a party, forgetfully posts her pictures in an inebriated condition on social media, and then regrets the same. She then ruminates,

‘Once you send something on social media, there’s no possibility of taking it back!

You know what! How much I would love to bury my face under a blanket!

Until one day we exist in the clouds… Hungry for answers!

There are some excellent punchlines too, that got elations from the literati –

Dying for your art is what makes an artist immortal…

Change is good. Let’s make change..!

Wiser punches with ethical touches were also palpable all over the play -

Remember, I’ve got a plenty of friends.

Quality is not the same as quantity.

One girl laments to herself, “Another day gone! Another day not to myself!”

I’m scared to take a chance!

Finally during the climax, the girls seem to realize that,

Suddenly, all of mom’s crazy actions now make sense!

They come to a reconciliatory stance that, “The only person you can make out with is yourself… I don’t want parties anymore.. I know I can’t change the things I have done, but I know that I can change the things I am going to do, or at least I can try!”

I wish there was a measurement for self esteem! But I have faith!

Maya no longer feels weird about being weird!

Diya felt that beauty had nothing to do with her reflection! So she put away her mirror.!!!

Consequently, as they start clicking a positive picture of themselves, over their final year, one click at a time, they come to a self-awareness and a great sense of realization that, ‘life is not about what other people see — it’s about the pictures they have of themselves!’ There lies the difference.

Summing it all up, after the presentation of the cast and the crew, the director said, “Although loosely based on Hayward’s Dramedy ‘Selfie,’ the play has taken for its action a lot of stories from all over the place and put them all together. There’s a lot of live arts going on in the city. That’s the way we can tell our stories to everybody else!” he concluded.

Congratulations to Dr. Archana Sardana, Head, Department of English, Anna Adarsh College for Women, & her vibrant team, for having organized the performance of a pioneering play, with elegance, style and charm! More than a month’s patient practice, streamlined to perfection, has yielded phenomenal dividends, and with what remarkable finesse!!! The Sound & Lighting were awesome to the core!  The organizers also deserve congratulations for giving that inclusive touch  & feel, to the portrayal of characters, and not having typecasted their cast into stereotyped roles. Indeed, the performative was laced with a judicious mix of all characters of all shades, which made it exemplary and a trendsetter of sorts.

May their tribe increase!