That we curate how we present ourselves on social media is an accepted reality—a consequence of the nature of platforms like Instagram and X. It also has much to do with the character or image counts built into their design; minor irritants in our everyday life that push us to measure our words. But what if this “character count” became a reality outside the virtual world, mandated by law and preventing us from uttering more than 140 words per day?

The Marathi play Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta Ghanta, directed by Mohit Takalkar and adapted by Niranjan Pedanekar, imagines a brave new world coping with such limitations through the story of mismatched husband-wife duo Aditya (Lalit Prabhakar) and Feroza (Mallika Singh Hanspal), who must find a different way to communicate. Based on British playwright Sam Steiner’s 2015 work Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, the Marathi adaptation has earned numerous nominations at the 2024 Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards, as well as recognition for its direction and acting.