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Indian émigré's play wows critics, theatre-goers alike

A P Kamath in New York

At one moment, he is the wide-eyed young man from the Indian subcontinent who has just arrived in New York with all the usual dreams immigrants have.

At another moment, he plays the lonely housewife who scolds her husband Hakim for not keeping his promise of quitting smoking.

And a few moments later, he is Azgi the waiter who is arguing with an American customer who wants his dish made spicy; 5 on a scale of 1 to 5. He tries to tell the customer the heat scale is more of a gimmick, and he won't survive No. 5. "Look, man, I'm from India," he says, the exasperation singing through his voice. "But even in India no one asks for No. 5"

A visitor who was watching Aasif Mandvi rehearse for the show that was to open on June 10 for a three-week run tells the writer and actor that it should run for thirty weeks. "It is touching, and it should interest anyone who has had to deal with bicultural experiences," the wellwisher says. In a way his wishes have become prophetic.

Fuelled by raves in The New York Times and Village Voice, Sakina's Restaurant extended its run to July 19, then to August 2; there was another extension, till August 16 -- but it now looks as if the play will continue through August, and perhaps mid-September. Advertisements in The New York Times and other publications carry the word 'extended', as if to remind the viewers that the play is here is to stay for a very long time to come.

Calling the play "wonderful," the Times added: " Mr Mandvi shows what an amazing actor he is... The funny and endearing show works in every tone it assumes: comic, grave, wistful, and angry." Village Voice called it "riveting and hilarious."

What is Sakina's Restaurant about?

"You can move to the other end of the earth but you can't leave your past behind," says Mandvi. It is not about being an Indian or American, he clarifies."It's about how you search for something out there, and it ends up being inside you all along," he adds.

"In bringing their story to the mainstream, Aasif has enlightened us," director Kim Hughes says. "His play is about looking for one's soul in a society far removed from one's own -- and all people should go around looking into themselves and ask themselves what they are doing in this world, she says. The characters in the play discover the truth about themselves. "

For the record this is the very first time a play about Indian immigrant experience has been offered to mainstream American audiences. For decades American playwrights have created wonderful plays about immigrants from Russia, Eastern Europe and Greece (the current Broadway hit, Ragtime is based on E L Doctorow's best-selling novel about Jewish immigrants, and sets to examine race relations among whites and blacks nearly a decade ago).

Though Sakina's Restaurant is being staged in a 100-seat The American Place Theater, remember that it is situated in the heart of Broadway, the most glamorous theater district in the world.

But to get one's show even in a small theater on Broadway is not a small achievement. And what was more important, it was produced by the American Place Theater which has presented shows by such Oscar winners as John Malkovich, and Mandvi has been trained by Wynn Handman who has trained the likes of Michael Douglas and, Denzel Washington.

"It is amazing the way the show has been embraced by non-Indian audiences," says publicist Susan Chicoine at Springer/Chicoine publicity firm. "A lot of Jewish people are seeing it. The drama in Azgi's life in a way reminds them of the cultural clashes perhaps their parents or their grandparents underwent when they arrived from Europe decades ago."

Now, Mandvi, 32, is not only planning to take the play to a dozen major American cities but also to India and the Gulf countries. But that will pose a few challenges. For Mandvi is not just a stage actor; he has had a busy career in the past two and half years, playing small but significant roles in the mainstream American movies.

In the upcoming Martial Law he got to shoot a chase scene with Oscar winner Denzel Washington for five days. The film is directed by Ed Zwick, one of the most respected directors in Hollywood, and whose hits include the Oscar nominated Civil War drama, Glory.

Recently, Aasif played Dr Shulman, an intern in a hospital for Analyze This. In a key scene in the movie Robert De Niro, who plays a gangster, is brought to the hospital; he thinks he has a heart attack.

"He just cannot believe when the intern tells him that he is having a panic attack," Mandvi says with a chuckle. "He says it cannot be because he is not afraid of anyone, anything."

He has learned a lot from the stars and directors he has worked, even if it were for a day or two. Woody Allen told him not to expect the same reactions, same laughter, same sighs or same anger from live audiences, Mandvi says. Just because one night the audiences did not laugh loud does not mean that they were not enjoying the play, Allen told Mandvi. "It does not mean they were not listening," the famed actor and filmmaker said. "They are reacting on another level. So don't get discouraged."

His ambition is to write and direct and star in his own movies. Meanwhile, he says he won't play another Indian or Pakistani cabby, "unless they are paying me an extremely obnoxious amount of money."

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