New Delhi: A classic Russian love story from 1848, a Hindi audience in 2025, and a stage. Relevance might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about a story from the 19th century – Fyodor Dostoevsky’s White Nights. Yet, writer-director Purva Naresh makes it feel contemporary in her new theatre production Chandni Raatein, weaving in references to the works of famous Hindi poets such as Vinod Kumar Shukla, and the farmers’ protest.
At Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium, the curtains lift to reveal a bar, a beautiful bridge, and a skyline beyond which lies the Neva River in St Petersburg. The opening song is a goosebump-inducing, gripping opera-style number, bringing sharply dressed artists together. They even say some dialogues in Russian initially. But what follows is a stylish, creative, and powerful musical experience that’s surprisingly relevant.
White Nights spans four nights in a Russian summer, when the sun hardly sets. It is the story of a lovelorn woman and a cynical man who finally begins to see some hope after meeting her. But the woman continues to yearn for her lost lover, and feels torn about meeting other suitors. When their fate intertwines, the story takes an unexpected turn.
An Indian retelling
While White Nights has inspired filmmakers such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali (in the 2007 film Saawariya), Luchino Visconti, and Robert Bresson, it’s never been performed live on a stage before, said Purva Naresh. So, she took on the challenge and delivered – a bold production that’s both a tribute to the original and a refreshing retelling for Indian audiences.
The Russian influences are heavy, but the story feels Indian. A young Nestanka (played by Girija Godbole) stands on the bridge, singing the Nadiya Bairan Bhayi thumri in Raag Des. A cynical hero, Deewana (Mantra Mugdha), quotes lines by Vinod Kumar Shukla and Kedarnath Singh: “Hatasha se ek vyakti baith gaya (a person sat down with hopelessness)”, and “Jaana Hindi ki sabse khaufnaak kriya hai (Going is the most frightening verb in Hindi)”.
Deewana is stressed about the current situation of farmers and the rising prices of potatoes – a key ingredient in Russian Vodka – as those around him celebrate the onset of white nights. In this hopelessness, he quotes many famous Hindi poets, voicing his turmoil through their verses.
It was challenging to make the play more relevant in an increasingly non-socialist world, where we witness unlawful imprisonment of students and children being killed in wars, said Naresh. Chandni Raatein shows that a young person in the 21st century can feel the same pain, dilemma, and cynicism as a young person in 1848.
The works of Hindi stalwarts Naresh Saxena, Ishrat Afreen, and Ashok Vajpeyi fit perfectly within the context of the play, making the characters’ concerns seem more relatable. Subtle references to Communism and books like Das Kapital remind the audience that love is indeed political.
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‘Indians love to sing’
Set design, lighting, and music make Chandni Raatein a sensory delight. A live band, playing banjo, drums, tabla, violin and keyboard in a corner, fuse Indian and Russian beats to add layers of emotion to the narrative.
The viewer is transported to the streets of St Petersburg while sitting in Delhi as familiar Hindi ghazals and contemporary songs blend with traditional Russian tunes and dances. The changing colours of the skyline in the backdrop, and the smooth transitioning of settings and props, make the play look like poetry in motion. The adaptation has some witty dialogues, a few (questionable) puns in the spirit of Dostoevsky, and some emotionally charged dialogues that elicited occasional ‘waahs’ from those sitting in the audience.
Actors Danish Husain, Mantra Mugdh, Girija Oak Godbole, Anamika Tiwari, and Trupti Khamkar added gravity through their sincere performances in the show – which has been produced by Aadyam Theatre and debuted in Mumbai in February.
“I chose to adapt it into a musical because we Indians love to sing in grief and joy,” said Purva Naresh. Her play’s Delhi performance was testimony to this – the audience gave it a standing ovation, warmly embracing the age-old Russian story, humming “ye pyaar, pyaar kya hai.”
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)