Kumud Mishra, Sumeet Vyas to stage Hindi adaptation of ‘Sleuth’

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Actors Kumud Mishra and Sumeet Vyas are set to star in “Saanp Seedhi”, an adaptation of the award-winning stage thriller “Sleuth”, in the national capital on March 29 and 30.

Part of the ongoing seventh season of the Aadyam Theatre, the play is slated to be held at Kamani Auditorium. It is directed by acclaimed actor-director Shubhrajyoti Barat.

Written by ace English playwright Anthony Shafferr, “Sleuth” won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1971 and has since then captivated the audience through three big screen adaptations.

Out of the three, Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1972 film of the same name — starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier — is perhaps the most celebrated one. Now, Barat is all set to infuse a new energy into its Indian adaptation, retaining its gripping storytelling.

“I have witnessed magic unravel on the stage of Aadyam Theatre and experienced the plays as an audience. It is my debut as a director for Aadyam Theatre and I could not have asked for a better play than ‘Saanp Seedhi’.

“The thing that fascinated me the most about it is that despite its limited logistics, the play explores the whole gamut of human emotions and mind. ‘Saanp Seedhi’ is an interesting endeavour that I am excited for the Indian audience to witness and be amused by the world it inhabits,” Barat said in a statement.

Its Hindi adaptation “Saanp Seedhi” is a two-actor play, which will feature Mishra and Vyas, who have successfully made their mark on the celluloid, TV, streamers as well as the stage.

Set in Goa, the story plot revolves around a rich, narcissistic, retired filmmaker who spends his days with his estranged wife. He invites her young lover, an ambitious architect, to their home before he lets go of his wife. What is entailed in a seeming conversation is a psychological play between two men, a bizarre game of egos, desires, deceit, and much more.

The larger theme of the seventh season of Aadyam Theatre, which also saw staging of Atul Kumar’s thrilling adaptation of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and Purva Naresh’s adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “White Nights”, is to adapt literary opuses into theatre productions with an Indian milieu, making it relevant for the Indian audience.

The season will conclude in September.