A Fistful of Rupees
By Shiv Tandan and Stone Paper Stories.
“Emotional and Funny”
At its heart, Fistful is the story of every modern city: the blistering pace, the hustling crowds, the maddening ambition, the glamour and the squalor. The new century is one of great migrations towards these cities and Fistful captures that experience - and asks the age old question of belonging and identity in a very physical, tightly knit, and outrageously funny production.
Synopsis
Raghav moves to Mumbai without much of a plan, throwing himself headfirst into the ruckus. After living in quiet and orderly Singapore for many years, Mumbai comes as quite a shock.
Everything feels heightened, louder, brighter, impossible to ignore. He fights the absurd loneliness of the crowded city with lots of laughter, and some bravery.
Incisive and candid with dashes of absurdity, Fistful of Rupees considers the idea of what it means to truly arrive in this expansive and yet tiny world. Flitting between grim realism and outright absurdist humour, the play is both an ode to Mumbai's overpowering personality as well as a heartfelt journey of a young person navigating opportunity and despair with equal earnestness. At some point, Raghav must decide whether he wants to continue to spectate and observe, or finally jump in as well.
Fistful of Rupees was written by artist and theatre maker Shiv Tandan, inspired by his own real-life experiences. The play was featured at Tata LitLive! Mumbai Literature Festival 2018 and in the same year, named runner-up at the International Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Awards, one of the most sought-after awards for English language dramatists in India.
What People are Saying
“For anyone who has shifted base to a different location at some point in life will easily find friends, acquaintances, or even oneself among the play’s canvas of 27 characters and lots of familiar, everyday situations. The play is a rich concoction of humor and emotions.”
— Aditi Pancholi, in Times of India
In it’s decentralised way, it has managed to capture the messy ennui and idealism of youth, as well as the anonymity of big city living – all while being a paean to the rugged ambition of the millions of immigrants to Mumbai, who are putting them- selves out there daily, shrugging off the negativity of repeated dis- appointment to dream.
-Clement Yong, The Strait Times
