Rating:
️️1/2
Plot:
A drunkard worker in the anatomy section of an old medical school, Vijay Shinde is on a quest to find eternity for Lily, a dead body he has fallen in love with.
Review:
Presented by Maharashtra Cultural Centre, Whole Body Massage, is a two act Marathi play. The play is written by Dr. Harshwardhan Shrotri and directed by Kiran Yadnyopavit. The play starts with a promising premise of a drunkard played by Girish Kulkarni, who along with being a worker who cleans and preserves dead bodies, is also a great masseuse with magical fingers.
The first act takes us through his work conditions and how the shortage of dead bodies is forcing him to go out of his way and search for them. Then we are introduced to Lily, a beautiful dead body, which Vijay has carefully preserved for 3 years. Vijay is completely in love with Lily and is not willing to give her up for anything. He is on a quest to preserve her for eternity. But something goes haywire and his dream starts fading away. What he does next is what the play is all about.
The first act is fast paced, gripping and hilarious. The second takes an ugly turn in all aspects, whether it be the performance, storyline or writing. A very promising start is wasted. The lazy writing in the second act makes it feel dragged and tardy. The lights are used beautifully by Sanket Parkhe. The set is minimal and the space is mostly created with props.
Girish Kulkarni as Vijay Shinde is simply phenomenal. He is the string holding the play together completely. Hand in hand with him is Shrikant Yadav who plays the role of his best friend. Their chemistry in one of the drunken scenes is absolutely amazing and hilarious. Nobody could have pulled that off better than these two stalwarts. Other supporting cast played their parts well.
Overall, Whole Body Massage is a play literally divided in two acts, one being an absolute genius and the other one being a disaster. The play is adult rated so choose your audience wisely. Look out for the upcoming shows on BookMyShow and MCC’s instagram handle.
