Fairytales can be problematic, says director Nishil Kamalan. "While many of these stories have been a rage for decades, they often reiterate sexist ideas that children unconsciously absorb." Kamalan, who recently staged a political satire The Great Indian Circus, as well as a children's play, Procrastination, which was enacted by 22 kids, hopes to address this issue, in his adaptation of The Beauty and the Beast.

Called A Twisted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, the play, which has been written by Reynold D'Sa, will see Kamalan visit the timeless children's classic, but in a contemporary setting. In D'Sa comedy, Beauty (Akansha Bharadwaj) is captured by the Beast (Kartik Subramaniam) at a castle in Bandra. And, unlike the crockery that made for amusing characters in the original Disney cartoon, Beast has a few interesting slaves other than Beauty — like a mobile phone that talks and dances, a clock that tick-tocks to any tune, a panda who doesn't do anything and a clown, who plays witch. The play also has lots of song and dance sequences, including a small surprise, where Kamalan hopes the audience will participate too.