It is always heartening to see a production that bucks current trends and manages to get audience appreciation too. Commercial Gujarati theatre is not known for experimentation, or for even straying too far from accepted norms. Producers depend on box office sales for their revenue and some ‘sold-out’ shows (selected by community groups for their members), so they normally pick safe, crowd-pleasing subjects.

Playwright-actress Sneha Desai has written a serious play called Code Mantra, set against the background of the army. The working of the armed forces is a subject that has not been explored much in Mumbai theatre