Neeraj Shivaikar

This innocence, however, has shades of grey. In fact, that holds true for all the three central characters, each of whom has a selfish motive that informs his or her actions. For instance, you might forgive Neera for having an affair saying she was pushed towards it during a weak moment. But does that justify the fact that she’s unable to come clean and be honest about it to her husband?

Similarly, it might be said that Divyajit is hopelessly in love with Neera and thus can’t help himself. Still, the fact remains that he came in between a married couple like a snake who poisons their domestic life. Niranjan, of course, is the easiest to point a finger at. Yes, he might be blind with jealousy since his wife slept with another man, but revenge isn’t his primary motive. Greed is. So, all these moral dilemmas that the characters face add a nuanced layer that make A Perfect Murder more than a suspense thriller; it’s also a play that raises questions about how society judges what is wrong and what is right when things aren’t painted merely in black or white.

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But what were the challenges of adapting a plot that was first written in 1940s London in a Mumbai context? We ask the playwright, Neeraj Shivaikar, and he tells us, “The original is so idiom-heavy that if I were to translate it as it is written, there’s no guarantee that it would have made sense to audiences today. At the same time, I also resisted the urge of turning it into a melodrama, where you have a bechari wife, a conniving husband and an innocent lover. I tried to keep the grey shades intact as much as I could, which then transform into black or white because of certain situations,” which means that your moral compass won’t flit only between north and south while watching this production, since — in a manner of speaking — you might end up feeling like you have sympathy for the devil.

On: June 1, 3.30 pm
At: Shivaji Mandir Natyagruha, NC Kelkar Road, Dadar West.
Call: 24304566
Cost: Rs 200

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