Rakesh Bedi and Ananth Mahadevan’s cricket-fuelled comedy LAST OVER enthrals audiences in the US
Veteran actor Rakesh Bedi, known for his distinctive comic performances across Hindi cinema, television and theatre, and acclaimed actor Ananth Mahadevan reunited on stage in LAST OVER, an urban Hindi situational comedy that recently travelled across the USA. The play was presented in New York on September 25, New Jersey on September 27 and Boston on September 29, bringing its mix of cricket, family, relationships and the unmistakable madness surrounding an India-Pakistan match to audiences across three cities.
The USA tour was brought by Prria Trehan Haider, with Bhavana Sharma and Jasbir Jaisingh organising the New York show. Prria has been working to bring quality Indian entertainment and live theatrical productions to audiences across the USA.
Presented and produced by Coconut Theatre, LAST OVER brought together a seasoned cast of Rakesh Bedi, Ananth Mahadevan, Abhishek Pattnaik, Zachary Coffin, Ahan Nirban and Yashaswee Gandhi. Written by Abhishek Pattnaik and co-directed by Pattnaik and Suketu Shah, the urban Hindi situational comedy is set against the backdrop of an India-Pakistan Cricket World Cup Final at Lord’s in London. The story follows newlyweds Sunny Arora from India and Zubaina Kazmi from Pakistan, whose lives are thrown into chaos when their cricket-obsessed fathers arrive unannounced, determined to get tickets to the sold-out match. What follows is a comic roller-coaster of family dynamics, cricket fever and the rivalry between the two nations, with Pattnaik also stepping into the cast as part of the ensemble.
Speaking about the USA tour, celebrated actor Rakesh Bedi shared, “There is something very special about taking a play like LAST OVER on tour, especially when you know there are audiences across the USA who love Hindi theatre and connect with stories like this. LAST OVER has cricket at its centre, but it is really about family, relationships and the kind of madness that happens when people get too emotionally invested in a cricket match. Taking the play across the USA and performing for audiences in New York, New Jersey and Boston was a wonderful experience, and I really enjoyed seeing their reactions to the laughter and emotions we brought to the stage.”
Adding to this, Ananth Mahadevan shared, “Rakesh and I go back a long way, and LAST OVER is particularly special to me because it brought us together on stage for the first time. To reunite for the same play almost a decade later and take it across the USA was a wonderful feeling. The play has travelled with us over the years, but the excitement of performing it live never really goes away. Performing for audiences in New York, New Jersey and Boston and revisiting these characters with Rakesh after all these years made this tour particularly memorable. There are strong characters, plenty of unexpected turns and a lot of human humour in the story. Theatre always has an element of spontaneity, and experiencing that energy with audiences throughout the tour was truly special.”
With performances in New York on September 25, New Jersey on September 27 and Boston on September 29, LAST OVER marked another chapter in the play’s journey. The USA tour also brought Rakesh Bedi and Ananth Mahadevan back together on stage nearly a decade after their earlier association, giving audiences across three cities an evening of cricket, family chaos and live Hindi theatre.
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