Vivaan Shah and Motley Productions’ Phukatiya is laced with Mumbaikar grit and explores how masculinity, debt, and belonging shape life in the city
Plabita Borthakur plays Cindy, in a moment from the rehearsal
Written nearly 15 years ago, and having resurfaced in different forms before finally finding its way back to theatre through Motley Productions, Phukatiya (freeloader) is set on the streets of Mumbai. The play follows a group of small-time bhais caught in a web of unpaid debts, fragile friendships, and bruised egos. As rivalries grow and loyalties are tested, it uses street humour and confrontation to examine masculinity, power, and the language these men live by. “It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for many years, and at the age of 35, I just got a burning desire to do this play,” says Vivaan Shah, writer and director.
City vibes, all
Mumbai’s street dialect is central to Phukatiya. Shah notes that it is often exaggerated or caricatured in popular culture, losing its lived-in quality. “People who are not from the city find the dialect hard to grasp,” he says, describing it as coarse, while emphasising that it carries an authenticity that cannot be softened without losing its meaning.
Vivaan Shah
He cites films such as Vaastav (1999) and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978) as works that genuinely captured this raw essence. Shah also acknowledges the influence of Kader Khan, not just as a screenwriter, but as a playwright who brought street language on stage as early as the 1960s. The production also reflects a version of Bandra, where Shah grew up, long before it became a fashionable address or a hub of bourgeois cafés.
Ranwar Village in Bandra. File pic
It was home to Christian, Muslim, Maharashtrian, and Sindhi communities, and this mix remains central to the play’s emotional world, and the conflicts that unfold within it. Several characters in the play — including Nadeem Chipkali, Irshad Batla, and Yunus Patel — are drawn from the same ecosystem as Shah’s novel, Living Hell.
Masculinity, money, ego
Vivaan Shah and Plabita Borthakur in rehearsal. Pics Courtesy/Motley Productions
At its core, the play is a satire of masculinity. Shah is clear that the play does not celebrate bhai culture, but questions it, saying, “All the good gangster stories are satires of masculinity.” In the play, money and debt become symbols of both survival and ego. “Money is one of the few things that can spoil a friendship,” Shah notes, highlighting how financial pressure exposes insecurity and rivalry among men. The play also addresses how these men speak about women and the male gaze as an ‘uncomfortable truth’, adding that these characters often exist in largely male-only worlds.
The troupe rehearses with Joy Fernandes (in white) during a session at Andheri
The play concludes with a cricket match between Christian and Muslim boys — Makapaos and Miyabhais. “Cricket is the game of the streets of Bombay. In gully cricket, you see true male aggression, rivalry, and ego on display, and that becomes a definition of how these characters perform masculinity in public spaces,” he signs off.
ON January 6 and 7; 7.30 pm onwards
AT Rangshila Theatre, Oakland Park, Andheri West.
ENTRY Rs 350
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