About The Event
A tomato has never sparked so much laughter; or so many uncomfortable questions.
Plays Type: Theatre. Experimental.
Genres: Comedy. Satire. Political. Contemporary.
Experience a rehearsed reading by Mumbai's acclaimed Team Off Drama of Paanch Rupaiya Baarah Aana, a razor-sharp political satire about the extraordinary journey of a tomato from a farmer's field to your dinner plate. Somewhere along that journey, a simple question becomes a national puzzle. If a farmer receives only five rupees for a kilo of tomatoes, why do we pay thirty; or forty?
Set against the backdrop of a massive farmers' rally in Delhi, the play unfolds through the eyes of an irrepressible television reporter determined to uncover the truth. One interview at a time, she encounters farmers, politicians, activists, experts, bureaucrats, middlemen and consumers, each convinced they alone understand the crisis. Every conversation reveals another layer of a system that is at once hilarious, bewildering and deeply unsettling.
What makes Paanch Rupaiya Baarah Aana truly distinctive is that it refuses easy answers. There are no heroes and no villains. Bursting with wit, irony and unforgettable characters, the play transforms economics, public policy and media spectacle into exhilarating theatre. It trusts its audience to think rather than telling them what to think, making every laugh a moment of reflection and every revelation a fresh perspective.
The play has been written by Mrinal Mathur, one of India's most prolific contemporary playwrights, whose acclaimed oeuvre of original plays has travelled across India and overseas, inviting audiences to question history, challenge assumptions and discover their own truths.
Minimal in staging but immense in impact, this performance brings one of contemporary Indian theatre's most original and thought-provoking satires to life. Whether you are a theatre lover, student, policymaker, journalist, entrepreneur or simply someone curious about the stories behind everyday India, this is an experience that will stay with you long after the final line.
You may walk in expecting a play about farmers. You will leave questioning everything that happens between the field and your plate.
