Extremely moving, yet quietly unassuming, Rafta Rafta… tells of the trials and tribulations surrounding a traditional Indian marriage and the events following the big day. This is a production depicting both the mundane of the everyday whilst simultaneously exploring the extraordinary qualities of each unique family member. Ayub Khan-Din has taken the original play and story-line of All in Good Time written by Bill Naughton in the 1960s and relocated it among the Asian community in present day Bolton.
With the wedding feast over, the Dutt family return to their terraced Bolton home to continue the celebrations. After more eating, drinking and some raised family tensions, the groom retires upstairs with his virgin-bride. The only problem is that the next morning she emerges just as that – still a virgin. Thanks to the close proximity of his parents and the practical jokes committed by his brother and his boss to the marital bed, not to mention his brother’s hilarious announcement that the ‘bog’ was free just as things were beginning to get passionate, Atul is unable to make a ‘woman’ of his new bride.
Rafta Rafta… cleverly depicts the intense claustrophobic atmosphere of the family home, along with all the inhibitions and awkwardness it can bring out in its inhabitants. The set design offers an extraordinary window into this world – a cross-section of the home, providing a view into every room in the house allows the audience to really appreciate the closeness of the newly-weds bedroom to that of Atul’s parents.
When after six weeks of marriage Vina still remains a virgin, cracks begin to develop as Atul starts to take his frustrations out on his new wife. As the troubles within their children’s marriage begin to show, two subplots develop reflecting the two sets of parents own marital issues.
Though correctly billed as a comedy, Rafta Rafta… is an extremely human story – about an ordinary family and ordinary lives. However, it is definitely not without its brilliant comedy moments, most thanks to Harish Patel playing Atul’s father, who particularly displays some ‘interesting’ bhangra dancing.
Despite some Bollywood actor references that I found difficult to understand, the gentle action was easy and enjoyable to follow, tenderly addressing modern close-knit family issues that members of the audience from a wide variety of cultures could easily relate to. The troubled yet revealing ending especially left me reassessing my picture of Atul’s father and their difficult father-son relationship.
9/10
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