#this is just an assad zaman blog now i guess

[mannequinswithkillappeal]

[notasapleasure]

Behind the Beautiful Forevers, National Theatre (2015)

David Hare's adaptation of Katherine Boo's book about a Mumbai slum. It follows various people and their interconnected stories, and Joplin is one of those playing multiple characters in the play: Sub-Inspector Shankar, the Prosecutor, and an unnamed extra.

First off, just a warning for anyone who might need it, as Sub-Inspector Shankar is not above committing a little light torture to get the results he wants. The story is pretty heavy too - there's self-immolation, suicide and violence.

And yeah, I am just here taking my little screenshots, and I am not above saying a uniform can look good on the right body even when said body is wielding a stick or belt as an instrument of torture. But you all know that from these blog posts already... First watch was for going oof at the story, second watch was just for going mad taking screencaps.

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Oh HI Assad Zaman! He has a motorbike.

He.....oh dear. He had a very bad time as Deepak Rai, aka Kalu. Brutally murdered for breaking into the airport grounds to steal metal. (but he also turns up as a number of other characters)

Hmmmm hello Mr Officer Sir. That IS a moustache!! Sub-Inspector Shankar Yeram aka Fishlips 🙃 (I'm not making it up!)

He wants to keep the murder rates low! Get the certificates, look after his kids....just say the murder victim was suspected of having TB, the coroner will know what to do. Tell the other pickers he was murdered though, we wanna keep them scared!

Among the British actors putting on their Indian accents, he's at least doing a posher one but umm. If you know he's a Cockney you still know.

Holy SHIT did he just pick up Sunil the picker one-handed skdjdjjfjfjff 💀

The problem is I'm trying to have critical thoughts and then it's just 'HURRR. LOOK HOW BIG HE IS.'

Oh no, torturing a man for evidence is bad for his back :(

"Can you tell me what they've been charged with?"

"Yes, I can." 😐🤌

The tick of pulling the trousers up is splendid. The moustache is glorious. The bribery by tiffin is kind of charming. But the accent....bb it's not your best :') I guess it's a struggle to project and do this accent together?

Beginning of the second act (the rains have arrived - hence hat).

He sort of takes pity on the woman whose eldest son, husband and daughter have been jailed for beating a woman who then self-immolated (which they didn't do). I say sort of, because money and tiffins are very much involved, but he helps get Abdul a school certificate to ensure he'll go to juvie rather than adult prison.

As an aside, the second act hits SO much harder. The audience laughter is rarer, quieter, more nervous - in the first half it often made me uncomfortable, like the characters were grotesques to be laughed at. The themes come together too - younger generations who have seen either tenuous opportunity or brutal reprisal based on their parents' approach to getting on, asking themselves why they have to act 'dishonourably' or unjustly to improve their lot. And their parents standing by the hard work they've put in - whatever the cost - in order to improve things for their families.

Probably my least finest hour was trying to get a shot of Joplin's butt dancing in the background while Meena is in agony from the rat poison she's taken.

But if you do watch the play - and I really do recommend it - fair warning that Meena and Manju's interactions will wreck you, even if nothing else does (and there's plenty else that should).

THE MOUSTACHE IS GONE

He's now the lawyer for the prosecution (against the Husseins for Fatima's death).

LIES! DAMNATION AND LIES!

gosh isn't he big though.

I think the accent is better without the moustache?

They still have him hauling bits of stage around in his suit :') And once you're on the look out for him in the unnamed role in between scenes as the copper and the lawyer he's on stage quite a lot. But the cast is large and the story is dense, so if you do watch, be aware that focussing on Joplin will make the story near-incomprehensible and in focussing on the story you might miss a lot of his background appearances. Which is why I'm glad I watched twice :)

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Rating

Dead? Nope! Not one version!

Evil? Nearly everyone in the play is morally compromised and sees the bribes and the selfishness simply as the only way of surviving with the hand life has dealt them. It's worse from the professional classes because of the additional power they wield, as you'd expect, and though S-I Shankar does what he does for his children's education, one feels he does relish it somewhat, too.

Affects the plot? He does indeed!

It took a while to warm on me, but the second act really made it all come together, and re-watching with a better idea of the characters and themes was really satisfying. The performances all round are great. And on a thoroughly basic note, the uniform is hot, the suit is well-fitted, and yes there was that time he picked up a dude one-handed. 3/5. The speaking roles he has really aren't nice people, looks notwithstanding, and the accent...not his best.

There are shitloads more screencaps too, but I couldn't be bothered to knit them together tonight - when I've watched the last three plays I'll set up a fan blog and a google drive with all of them in for people to take and use as they want.