Cast: Cruz, Rosy, Samenca, Franky, Tony de Ribandar, Peter de Arambol, Sally, Joana, Bobet, John Hatts
Direction: Mario Menezes
Band: Dexter/Macroy (trumpet), Mariano (bass), Rohan (keyboard), Manuel (drums)
Story: When a rape takes place, in the fight against the culprits, it’s the victim who is made the scapegoat. Due to loopholes in Indian laws, the accused stands victorious. Will this always be the outcome or can the tables be turned?
Review: Myron (Peter de Arambol), who has just been promoted to PI, wants to marry Tanya (Samenca). Rocky Baba (Franky), as he is popularly known, is equally obsessed with her and will go to any lengths to get what he wants. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to call his eccentric and out of control as he has the backing of his father, Rio (Mario Menezes) who has all the influence at his disposal as he is an advocate and the local MLA.
Tanya refuses to attend college following the atrocious incident. Her parents, Ofelia (Rosy) and Cruz (Cruz), coax her to take courage and go ahead, but to no avail. Then, to make matters worse, Rocky Baba lands up at Tanya’s house, accompanied by his aide Sidney (Tony de Ribandar). His visit leaves Tanya and her parents trembling.
With the help of goons, Rocky Baba’s mission is accomplished. Book of law unveils loopholes in the justice system that aid criminals. But those faulty laws could also work in favour of the victim, with punishment to the accused. How? Check it out in this tiatr.
The biggest name in the cast is Franky of ‘Mahanand’ fame. Here, he plays Rocky Baba, the bad boy in town. With him is his assistant Tony, who might be small in stature but his booming voice is like a thunderbolt, very impactful. Samenca is convincing as the rape victim, ably supported by Rosy, Cruz and Peter de Arambol. Bobet as the judge lacks command and lighter moments in court are uncalled for.
The two court scenes are the two turning points of the tiatr, and deserve special mention. The first one points out the loopholes in the justice system that let the accused go scot-free while the second scene shows the execution of justice for the gruesome crime.
Comedy, interspersed in the main story, by Sally and Joana, evokes enough laughter from the audience. A handful of songs on the life of Mother Teresa as well as issues such as garbage and alcohol, make for pleasant listening.
Mario had earlier brought out the social issue of suicide and with this tiatr, he has tackled the evil of rape rather tactfully.
