Amitosh Nagpal's musical about dreams and hustle to be staged at Prithvi Theatre

Moments from the musical Mahanagar Ke Jugnu

Have you followed your dreams to land in a city, where these cherished ambitions have had to take a backseat in the hustle for existence? To write songs, open a little shack, launch a startup or take trips every weekend - where do these dreams, big and small, go when you're not looking and busy living life? In Mahanagar Ke Jugnu, a theatrical production by actor, screenwriter and lyricist Amitosh Nagpal, these wide-eyed dreams and wild 3-am thoughts turn visitors for Jugnu, an insomniac who's grappling for ideas. Inspired by the stories of his cast and crew, the musical is written and directed by Nagpal. It will be staged at Prithvi Theatre today and tomorrow.

Like the protagonist Jugnu, for Nagpal, too, the play is a coming-together of snippets of ideas - rants, sketches and observations on the city that the writer had been posting under the hashtag #mahanagarkejugnu. One day, two old friends from the theatre community approached him to work together. As they started jamming and exchanging stories of their journeys in Mumbai, the musical started shaping up. The writer, who was keen on building a non-linear, unconventional narrative, found support among his cast members, who opened up their life stories to him and played along.

The plot revolves around Jugnu who's struggling to write a story at night. As he tries to put pen to paper, Jugnu is visited by thoughts, which are personified. "We often speak of life as if it's a person - for instance, we say, life is so good to me, or life is so hard. We talk about our dreams in the same way, too. Jugnu is visited by Sapna [dreams] and Zoya [pragmatic existence], along with thoughts, which also turn into characters. Sometimes, these thoughts slip out of his hands, and sometimes, they try to control him, in the same way that thoughts race through our minds when we're trying to fall asleep," he explains. As Jugnu unravels this tapestry of ideas, he discovers his own story.

The musical is choreographed by Mohit Agarwal, while the music has been composed by Devender Ahirwar. "The play came together organically with stories of the actors. But it is deeply rooted in Nagpal's journey. It has a lot of rhythm, which gave me a meter to play with. It was a fun process," reveals Agarwal, who is the assistant director.

Although inspired by artistes from Mumbai's film and theatre industry, the theme will resonates with any individual who's straddling life and dreams. "It has struck a chord with people from different walks of life. You set out with an intention to do something in life, and then, something else becomes your mode of survival. And then you forget what you are here for," Nagpal reminds us.

ON: Today and tomorrow; 9 pm
AT: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu.
LOG ON TO: in.bookmyshow.com
COST: Rs 500