Dilip Guha ★ New Delhi : Aadyam Theatre, an initiative by the Aditya Birla Group, brought its latest play of the 7th season, ‘Chandni Raatein,’ to the stage. Produced by “An Aarambh production”, the play graced the Kamani Auditorium in Delhi on March 1st & 2nd, 2025. Aadyam Theatre aims to support and enhance the theatre scene in India. This season features a curated selection of diverse plays and unique experiences, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in captivating stories and worlds.
Chandni Raatein, the play written and directed by Purva Naresh, delves into the intricacies of relationships, restraint, and passion. It also explores the lives of individuals conditioned to keep their dalliances hidden. Based on the short story “White Nights” by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Purva Naresh’s spellbinding adaptation brings to life a poignant tale of love, longing, and fleeting connections. Adding rhythm and music, a new twist, to the literary opus makes it an experiential, musical treat.
The novel ‘White Nights’ has captivated audiences and readers with its tragic yet powerful storytelling, presented in various languages such as German, French, Italian, and more, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hindi adaptation. Purva Naresh, one of the prominent voices in Indian theatre, has brought this tale of love to life on the Indian stage, expanding its reach over four nights.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s groundbreaking literary work explores the rare phenomenon of St. Petersberg’s transient darkness, where the city experiences longer days and shorter nights. The narrative follows the protagonist, lost in a city full of known faces. As he wanders on the streets of the city, he becomes enchanted by the beauty of a woman. Despite the bleakness and engulfing darkness in the air, a love story emerges, and the two find light in each other.
Purva Naresh’s vivid adaptation brings fresh energy to the original White Nights, with music, dance, and an Indo-Russian fusion creating a visually stunning and deeply moving experience. Naresh’s adaptation breathes new life into this classic tale. Set against St. Petersburg’s transient darkness, the narrative follows a man and a woman who find light in each other amidst their struggles. The play skillfully blends music, dance, and emotional nuances, making it a genre-bending rendition.
Chandni Raatein was set against four nights of a liminal haze where the sun never fully sets and the night never truly darkens, it chronicles the intertwined lives of a man and a woman who meet at the edge of their own darkness. As they journey together, they become each other’s light, offering moments of hope, joy, and connection. But as their story unfolds, it reveals deeper complexities and hidden truths.
Through shifting perspectives—the deewana, his deewani, the man she longs for, and a silent observer who knows more than anyone—the tale uncovers layers of love, longing, and unexpected twists of fate. With a fresh perspective and innovative storytelling, Chandni Raatein ensures that this rendition of White Nights will linger in one’s heart long after the curtain falls. Each perspective shift offers a new lens, challenging one’s understanding of the story and its ultimate conclusion.
This adaptation uncovers intricate layers of love, longing, and unexpected turns of fate, all while infusing moments of warmth and comedy. Set against the backdrop of one of India’s most celebrated and ancient forms of storytelling, this genre-bending rendition of Chandni Raatein has captivated audiences since its opening weekend. It skillfully intertwines emotional nuances, laughter, and a celebration of love’s transcendental power.
In this multifaceted drama, the director brings the supporting characters to the forefront alongside the protagonists. Her talent for exploring the complexities of human life shines through, with love as the central theme. The infusion of various genres, particularly the musical element, takes the audience on an emotional journey.
The play features an ensemble cast, including Shimli Basu, Kaustav Sinha, Danish Husain, Mantra Mugdh, and Girija Oak Godbole, bringing Purva Naresh’s lyrical writing to life. With choreography by Anjali Polite and music by Kaizad Gherda, the production is a sensory treat.
Anjali Polite is credited with creating an impressive choreography routine, while Kaizad Gherda composed the music. Together, these music, drama, and thriller elements set the stage for a unique and memorable adaptation of this literary masterpiece, transforming it into a larger-than-life visual experience.
She has set her play in St. Petersburg, the very location where Dostoevsky placed his original story. The costumes are Russian, and the dialogue is in Hindi with some Russian phrases sprinkled throughout, which feels natural and fitting. and has taken the essence of the original story and added her layers. Recognizing that today’s generation may not have the patience for overly sentimental love stories or heartbreak, she retains the sense of melancholy and yearning but presents it with a light, dream-like touch.
In a bar, where the bartender-singer Asha, played by Shimli Basu, experiences unrequited love for her Indian admirer, portrayed by Kaustav Sinha, who faces deportation, a stranger named Fyodor, later referred to as Premi by Danish Husain in the narrator role, buys vodka shots for everyone and shares a story. Deewana Mantra Mugdh, a failed writer with strong views on the oppression of the poor and no one to talk to but the city’s buildings, encounters Nastenka, played by Girija Oak Godbole, waiting for her lover, who promised to return from Moscow during the four “rajatraatein” nights. Despite her kindness towards Deewana and her warning not to fall in love, he does and faces inevitable disappointment. The set by Kushal Mahant beautifully captures the bridge motif, the bar, and Deewana’s bare home, with light design by Sanket Parkhe and Asmit Pathare enhancing the mood. Musicians sit at one side of the stage, a living statue witnesses the story, and a chorus follows the leads with cheeky comments. Trupti Khamkar’s portrayal of Nastenska’s blind grandmother also shines. Purva Naresh weaves well-known poems and Kaizad Gherda’s versatile music into the scenes, with Mantra Mugdh and Girija Oak Godbole bringing out the emotions in Purva’s lyrical writing, making the audience root for them. Despite Deewana being seen as a loser today, the narrator echoes Dostoevsky’s sentiment: “May your sky be always clear, your dear smile always bright and happy, and may you be forever blessed for that moment of bliss and happiness you gave to another lonely and grateful heart… Good Lord, only a moment of bliss? Isn’t such a moment sufficient for the whole of a man’s life?”
The highly anticipated play Chandni Raatein has been transformed into a robust musical, showcasing a cast full of actors who excel in both singing and acting. This powerful ensemble of actors, technicians, designers, and musicians has undertaken the task of telling a seemingly simple story with dramatic flair.
Renowned playwright Purva Naresh has woven words from famous poets and lyricists into the narrative, acknowledging the impossibility of paying tribute to such a vast literary landscape with a single voice. The play incorporates nautanki compositions, which closely resemble opera within the rich diversity of Indian folk music.
In her words:
I decided to make the play a robust musical, and hence, the cast is full of actors who can sing and act. A powerful ensemble of actors, technicians, designers, and musicians take on the task of telling this simple story dramatically.
I have borrowed words from famous poets and lyricists as it’s impossible for me to pay a single tribute to such a large scope. We are using nautanki compositions because they are the closest to opera, within the multitude of forms Indian Folk music can take.
We are using classical compositions, evergreen ghazals, and our original compositions to express the world musically. To je o story as full of Indian flavour as possible.
The story is set in Petersburg because it is a tribute to its greatest writers, but it has got an Indian context too. It’s Russian, but very Indian, too.
A live band accompanies the actors on stage, heightening the emotional impact of the production. The ensemble cast delivers the story with panache and drama, staying true to the essence of the narrative. The play pays tribute to one of literature’s greatest writers while offering a contemporary and captivating performance.
