The play Lakhon Mein Teen was staged recently at the Karachi Arts Council. The play is a social satire on human tragedies backed with humour for comic relief. The story unfolds with flashbacks of the mentally disturbed suspects being questioned by a policeman who is the living embodiment of a callous, stone-hearted and semi-illiterate law enforcer.
The story begins with Jatin being interrogated about a bank robbery committed by him and his partners. He has a problem remembering and a doctor rushes to his rescue when the policeman (Faheem Azam) resorts to physical torture, reminding him that Jatin is, after all, mentally challenged. The cop responds by threatening the doctor!
Through flashbacks the audience learns that these disturbed characters planned a bank robbery masterminded by a schizophrenic named Hashim (Usman Mazhar), who after remaining jobless for years lost his mind. He planned the robbery to give money to his family. Hashim is aided by Jatin (S.M. Jameel), a Hindu who lost his senses when he saw his family being burnt alive as a child; Nazo (Kulsoom Aftab) suffers from multiple personality disorder due to abuse at a young age. Brilliantly acted by all three, their stories are a reflection of existing social problems and the callousness of society which looks the other way.
The heist seems to be going according to plan when the glitches start to show and the bank employees discover the robbers are not ‘normal’. The play raises questions about our society and what is considered ‘normal’ behaviour
