Hello Friends fictionalises the inner life of an ordinary blogger who becomes an internet sensation | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Hello Friends fictionalises the inner life of an ordinary blogger who becomes an internet sensation | Lifestyle News, The Indian Express

Written by Dipanita Nath |Updated: November 14, 2019 8:11:32 am

Hello Friends fictionalises the inner life of an ordinary blogger who becomes an internet sensation

The set takes the audience into the woman’s one-room home, where a cradle is kept near a bed, clothes hang from a wire, a table acts as a kitchen top and a wooden frame as a door.

Ruchita Bhujbal in scene from Hello Friends

At the height of summer last year, a woman appeared on social media, offering viewers a cup of tea. “Hello friends, chai pi lo,” she said, and broke the internet. Identified as Somvati Mahawar, she had tens of thousands of followers, inspired memes and set an online trend. In Pune, an award-winning theatre actor, Ruchita Bhujbal, was intrigued by the trend. She played and replayed the videos with her friends. “Who was this ordinary woman who had become an internet sensation overnight? She seemed very innocent. From the videos, we know that she has a husband and children but nothing more. And then, one day, her videos stopped and she disappeared from all platforms,” says Bhujbal. She explores the inner life of the trending star in a play, titled Hello Friends, with writer-director Saurabh Shamraj. It won the Excellence Award Gold in Expression Lab’s solo festival 2018 along with a grant for seven shows. Hello Friends was performed at Sudarshan Rangmanch on Sunday. It will have another show on November 16 at the same venue.