Playing to a cop gallery

For those in uniform, this play might be their chance to witness what the public really perceives about them.

In director Rohit Tiwari’s latest Inspector Pandey Fir Marr Gaya, the plot revolves around a realistic account of the life of city police amidst corruption and political pressure. The director is in talks with sources in the police department for organising a special staging where the top brass of city police will be present.

Tiwari says, “We are trying to get all the top cops for the staging. The play will also be translated in Marathi and the final dates are being planned out.”

The director refuses to admit whether he is depicting the police in a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ light. Instead he prefers to call it a ‘true’ light. He explains, “The inspiration came mainly post 26/11. Everybody was talking about the cops who had fought and died but no one was speaking about those who fought and survived. My play is about their (the latter’s) life.”

The play that took almost six months to develop had help at hand.

Tiwari’s elder brother is a cop in Madhya Pradesh police. He admits, “I have observed my brother’s work closely and he gave me a lot of information about the profession. I have also interacted with a people who have had real experience with the police — some bad, some good.”

The play also explores the life of Inspector Pandey through the eyes of his wife and son. While the son resists his father’s occupation, his wife is trying to make peace with the situation. Tiwari says, “Inspector Pandey is like any average policeman. He is even at the receiving end of political pressure. The play is not entirely a piece of imagination but I have taken some dramatic
licence.”