A Fine Balance

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22nd March – 5th April 2015, BBC Radio 4

A three-part dramatisation of Rohinton Mistry’s acclaimed novel set in India.

Two tailors – uncle and nephew, Ishvar and Om – come to the city to escape from the caste violence in their native village. They are employed by a Parsi woman, Dina Dalal, who runs a sweatshop from her apartment and is struggling to preserve her independence. She has a lodger too – a reluctant student, Maneck, from the mountains.

As their initial suspicion of each other turns to friendship and then love, their lives take dramatic and often shocking turns against a backdrop of India in crisis, during “the Emergency” of the mid-1970s – a period marked by political unrest and human rights violations.

A comedy, a tragedy, and a story of the triumph of the human spirit under inhuman conditions.

Dramatised by Ayeesha Menon and Kewel Karim from the novel by Rohinton Mistry.

On director John Dryden’s “sumptuous” production:

“He builds these incredibly complex sound worlds. He breaks the rules of radio but, despite the complexity, the audience is not lost.” Read the full article here

CAST

Dina – Shernaz Patel

Ishvar – Kenneth Desai

Om – Anand Tiwari

Maneck – Neil Bhoopalam

Rustom – Zafar Karachiwala

Ibrahim – Rajit Kapur

The Thakur – Jayant Kripalaini

Ashraf - Darshan Jariwala

Nusswan – Farid Currim

Beggarmaster – Ankur Vikal

Worm – Namit Das

Rajaram – Jaimini Pathak

Ruby – Anahita Uberoi

Narayan – Vivek Madan

Young Dina – Tirtha Kotrial

Young Ishvar – Eshan Savla

Young Narayan – Samar Uraizee

Ensemble – Jim Sarbh, Abhishek Saha, Meherangiz Acharya-Dar, Faezeh Jalali, Shivani Tanksale, Nadir Khan.

PRODUCTION:

Music – Sacha Putnam

Sound Design – Steve Bond

Production Manager – Niloufer Sagar

Producer – Nadir Khan

Dramatised by Ayeesha Menon and Kewel Karim from the novel A FINE BALANCE by Rohinton Mistry

Director – John Dryden

A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4

Goldhawk Productions