Bimal Pathak is a working class, small town family man, living in Gujarat with his Muslim wife, his nine-year-old daughter and an aged mother.
Bimal, played by Chirag Sinh Solanki, is often taunted by his mother for marrying Safina. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship is also strained. In the middle of this tussle lies their daughter Runa (Margi) who prays for her family to be together and live in harmony.
The play is written by celebrated screenplay writer Abhijat Joshi of 3 Idiots, PK and Munnabhai fame. The play not only focuses on the communal issues that have divided the nation for a long time but also portrays the struggles of the innocent victims of riots and communal violence.
Marmbhed revolves around the story of a small secular family who fight every day against the conservative norms laid by the society and are survivors of violence and hatred fanned by politicians and men in power. The family is a depiction of millions of such families who survived the riots and have been living through the nightmare every day.
As the story unfolds, there are senseless killings happening in the city over a long-standing dispute of a wall, which is believed to be sacred to both the Muslim and the Hindu community. Altaf played by Sailesh Prajapati is at large after he knocks down the wall to finish the feud once and for all.
Altaf, a soldier with a spine-chilling history of his own, realises how people were being brainwashed in the name of religion and takes a stern step to stop the strife. He escapes and finds refuge in his friend Safina’s house while the police are hunting for him in every street and colony of the city.
Bimal’s neighbour’s kid Sonu (Rohan Jote) is one of the strongest characters of the play. He is loved for his friendliness and naive nature. He has heard rumours about Altaf from the people in the locality and the street corner pan-wala. Stories floating the area that Altaf is a god’s man with a long beard, long clothes and is ferocious in his looks. Sonu brings stories to the house and like many is influenced that Altaf is a bad man sprouting communal fears in the people.
The play recounts the nightmares of the 1969 riots in Gujarat that killed hundreds and ruined thousands of families. Altaf, who was nine then, witnessed his father being torched alive and many killed on the basis of their religion.
The constant tiff between Bimal and Safina and the little girl who innocently asks her Altaf uncle, “My doll’s house has four walls. Can you knock them down too so that my parents stop fighting and start loving each other more?”
Safina’s mother-in-law played by Lajja Prajapati is a God-fearing lady and towards the climax mends her relationship with Safina resolving their 11-year-old misunderstanding. The play concludes with Altaf storming out of the house to surrender to the police but gets murdered by fanatics. The family reunites, accepting each other as they are and living happily ever after in harmony and secularism.
Marmbhed is directed by thespian Sailesh Prajapati and the play successfully evokes a cluster of emotions all at the same time. The strong storyline, brilliant acting, and hard hitting dialogues together with some great comic timing takes the audience on a journey where one questions one’s values and beliefs and how secular one is.