Every society is run by the wealthy—the more wealth you have the more influence you wield. The lives of these rich and famous look comfortable, blessed and aspiring to the ‘have-nots’, but once that thin veneer of societal status is broken, they are unmasked and appear as they really are—morally corrupt and hypocritical, as the rest. 

This is the very theme that the play Samaj Ka Naike, currently being staged at Shilpee Theatre, in Battisputali, pivots around. The play, a translation of Hernrick Ibsen’s 1868 play, The Pillars of Society, has been directed by Yubaraj Ghimire and translated and conceptualised into Nepali by Dr Shiva Rijal. 

The play tells the story of Mohan Kumar Chaudhary (Harihar Sharma), who is a wealthy businessman—who has established himself as a reputed business magnate in the city, through fraudulent means. He is so well-connected and suave that he can influence all the stakeholders, politicians and member of civil society with his talk, and struts around with a celebrity status in the city. Through his influence, he tactfully buys all the land put aside for a railway-project before bullishly making grandiose plans of his own.

There on, this central character’s life begins to unravel and the audience is taken through a whirlwind journey that looks into the morally corrupt life of this seemingly unimpeachable mogul. The two-hour-long play, as much as it is about the absorbing drama of the fictional characters on stage, is also a strong portrayal of the bitter truth of the society we live in, and is perhaps relevant more than ever to present Nepali society. It comes as little surprise that the show has struck a chord with theatregoers and has been garnering rave reviews. 

The play includes a glittering ensemble that features veteranactors such as Harihar Sharma, Desh Bhakta Khanal, Krishna Bhakta Maharjan, Meghraj Adhikari and Aruna Karki, among others. 

The play is currently being staged at Shilpee Theatre in Batisputali starting 4:30pm, and will be on till February 26.