Hishu, a play penned and directed by Anuvab Dasgupta, spumes with the energy of a young collective, Shahoj.

It deals with the issue of how news that sells is manufactured and disseminated. The story opens with a well etched plot that introduces the audience to a young, ambitious journalist, Arnab, stuck in a decisive moment— ‘to be or not to be’. His father, on the other hand, a staunch follower of ethical journalism, initially dismisses Arnab’s inclination towards sensationalism. The classic father-son conflict builds up to an interesting juncture that hints at an unexpected transformation.

This moment in the play is pregnant with the possibility of diving deeper into ethical, philosophical and political dialogue. However, the script seems to lose sight and veers off in a different direction. The characters of Arnab and his father, who stand for two distinct world orders, rather than becoming dense disappear like camphor.

The second half of the play assumes a different kind of storytelling, stitching together the fragments presented by the chorus. But some of the sequences become overtly preachy in their attempt to deride trumped-up propaganda. This change in the mode could have been a creative choice, but it appears to be jerky since the writing does not address this abrupt shift.

The narrative is propelled by an efficient and easy-flowing chorus, which does not loosen its grip even for a moment.

Aritraa Sengupta has done an incredible job as a choreographer which finds expression in the way the chorus melts into multiple forms and bends to diverse rhythms. The director has adeptly crafted some spectacular dramatic moments in the play, particularly the sequence that leads up to the interval.

The show offers powerful performances by Amiya Chakraborty, Anindya Sengupta and Avery Singha Roy. The sheer hard work reflects in Shahoj’s uncompromising attempt to show how today’s ‘media factory’ stokes a bizarre idea and then helps it spread like a disease that consumes reason.