Picture this. Your grandparents yearn to have a few hours to themselves but are unable to let you know of their plans. What could be the wisest and safest option in this regard? Well, to many of us, a play area or a trusted friend’s house might be a favourable alternative. But the tale ‘Aafat mein jaan,’ written and directed by Dinesh Ahalawat, presents a new alternative to such a scenario.

In this story, a dotting grandfather (to his 12-year-old grandaughter), decides to go to the movies with his lady friend. But tensions rise when he realises that he cannot abandon the child at a public park for the sake of experiencing ‘alone time’. His lady friend, eventually decides, to drop the child at a police station on the false pretext that the child is lost. What follows after that is a series of stomach-aching humorous instances. The child soon dominates the police station, and succeeds in getting the havaldar and the station-in-charge to act as per her wishes. Despite multiple attempts to send the child away, they are doomed to entertain her till her grandfather returns to pick her up.

The play, to me, offers an ideal dose of Sunday afternoon entertainment. It promises to bring a smile upon your faces. Most importantly, the contents of the presentation are clean and child-friendly. The presentation, however, ended on a rather incomplete note with the plot taking an unusual turn. This twist did not seem as appealing and could have been avoided to retain the real charm of the story. All in all, it was a pleasure to witness this play at the LTG Auditorium in New Delhi on January 7, 2024. The child protagonist, Pinky, stole the limelight and truly deserves to be lauded for her confidence and brilliant skills.