D'Arranged tells the story of a young Indian boy called Sanjay who spends most of his life avoiding the issue of an arranged marriage. His nagging family finally gets the better of him but to his surprise he discovers that Neenu, the prospective bride, is the one! Unfortunately 'the one' is already dating the village idiot Rundeep… Adding to Sanjay's trials and tribulations are an uncle who yearns for the perfect woman who loves to cook, clean and play cricket, an annoying cousin, Sudefed…who is full of useless information. Throw in Mr. Dave Patel, Neenu's father, Johnny Walker's best friend and resident snob at No. 42 Smith Street, and you have the funniest parody of Indian family life since Bend it Like Beckham.

PREVIOUS SEASONS | D'Arranged Marriage Touring Experience

D’Arranged Marriage has been performed by Tarun Mohanbhai 93 times and Rajeev Varma 38 times. It has successfully toured internationally and nationally:

• Esplanade Theatre Singapore Kalaa Utsavam Indian Festival of Arts
  4th - 5th November 2006 SOLD OUT
• Orewa Centrestage Theatre 30th September 2006
• Maidment Theatre Mainstage 19th - 23rd September 2006
• Downstage Theatre Wellington 12th-16th September 2006
• Fortune Theatre Studio Dunedin 19th - 23rd July 2005 SOLD OUT
• Court 2 Christchurch 11th - 16th July 2005
• Extended Season: Malaysia The Actors Studio @ Bangsar Shopping Centre
  27th & 28th June 2005 SOLD OUT
• Malaysia The Actors Studio @ Bangsar Shopping Centre 7th - 12th June 2005 SOLD OUT
• Lower Hutt Horticultural Hall 2nd April, One off Fundraiser
• Hamilton, Telecom Playhouse, September 2004
• The Hamilton Fuel Festival 2004 SOLD OUT
• International Laugh Festival, Wellington, Circa Studio, May 2004 SOLD OUT
• International Laugh Festival, Auckland, Herald Theatre, May 2004 SOLD OUT
• Nelson Arts Festival, September 2003 SOLD OUT
• Sydney Opera House, The Studio, May 2003 SOLD OUT
• Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Forum Theatre, March and April 2003
• Classic Comedy and Bar, Auckland, March, September, December 2003 and
  March 2004 SOLD OUT
• Bats Wellington, May 2002 SOLD OUT
• International Laugh Festival, Auckland, Safari Lounge Civic May 2002 SOLD OUT

REVIEWS | Critical Acclaim for D'Arranged Marriage

"He's good but, Tarun Mohanbhai is not one in a million. Consider the world's Indian population and you realize he's actually one in a billion and therefore his reach is considerable. In some ways he seems the perfect Billy T recipient. Like James, Mohanbhai is merciless with his culture's stereotypes… His song and dance routines are distinctly un-Indian and deliberately funny. And the slide shows are hilarious. All I can say give a man a cricket bat and he will be funny for a day; give him a sari and a cricket bat and he will be funny for life." Sunday Star Times May 2002

"An irresistible show that is as warm as it is funny!" NZoom 2002

"Warm and hysterically funny!" And can make anyone laugh until tears start rolling down their cheeks. A must watch show for everybody." Bharat Times Australia April 2003

"Mohanbhai's transitions between characters are smooth and almost flawless… An enjoyable evening." Sydney Telegraph May 2003

"This is an entertaining show that rolls along…" The Nelson Mail September 2003

"A cultural comedy classic" Dominion Post May 2004

"…A monsoon of movement, language and characters…this passage from India is a winner..." Waikato Times September 2004

"Varma (who performs the play alternatively with Mohanbhai) would break into song and dance routines just like a Bollywood movie - only much better…he had the audience on a string…A comedy is judged by how well it brought on the laughs and D'Arranged Marriage did that in abundance…" The Malay Mail June 2005

"Hilarity at its Indian best…A one man train ride to laughsville…" New Sunday Times Malaysia June 2005.

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MALAYSIA - The Star 23/06/2005
TWO MEN AND A SARI IN D’ARRANGED MARRIAGE

"Sanjay, you are already 10. Isn’t it time you were thinking of marriage?” So begins D’Arranged Marriage, a hilarious take on the Indian preoccupation with marriage.

There’s Sanjay, a cranky father, pious mother, an uncle, cousin, and Maori best friend, the intended bride, bride’s father and the village idiot – on whom the bride sets her sights.

Put one man, Tarun Mohanbhai, on stage to play all these roles and what you got were 75 minutes of largely non-stop comedy at the Actors Studio in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, last week.

The story is simple. The son of Indian immigrants in New Zealand, Sanjay is imbued with Western values and tries to dodge the issue of his marriage, which his parents keep raising. Along the way, appear his uncle, cousin, and friend who badger him with useless advice and information.

When he finally meets Neenu, his intended bride, he falls for her like a ton of bricks (romantic Bollywood music here). Unfortunately, Neenu is in love with Rundeep, the village idiot.

D’Arranged Marriage is a testimony to Tarun’s slick skills as a stand up comic. He almost never faltered as he moved from character to distinct character in split seconds. There was neither costume change nor intermission but the audience was too busy laughing to notice.

I thought that the caricature of snobbish Neenu’s father with his glass of whisky was spot on. And when Pushpa hyperventilates at the thought of homosexuality, her “hey Ram, hey Ram” was the epitome of a screamingly funny Indian housewife.

There were, however, some movements that were rather tired – what was with the crotch grabbing, anyway? Also, Tarun could have paced himself a tad slower to allow the audience to catch more – the laughter would have been even greater.

What helped rivet the audience was the slide show. The slides gave us glimpses of how the characters looked and helped explain various situations.

Tarun is obviously a multi-talented man: he wrote D’Arranged Marriage together with his creative partner, Rajeev Varma.

The two Kiwis, known simply as Those Indian Guys, also wrote the prequel to D’Arranged Marriage, From India with Love (thanks a lot, George Lucas!). D’Arranged Marriage played first; it finished its run on June 12 but has been “brought back by popular demand” for two extra shows next week. From India with Love continues until Sunday.

From India with Love tells of the trials and tribulations of Pushpa (Rajeev) and Manhur (Tarun), two penniless Indian villagers, as they fall in love and travel to New Zealand to seek a better life to help Pushpa’s ailing father. The couple find life in New Zealand unbearably harsh, at least at first. The Indian and New Zealand backgrounds provide ample fodder for humorous observations on cultural differences, racism, ignorance and interaction.

Indeed, it is a wicked parody of Indian mores and culture that pokes fun at just about every Indian stereotype – but without malice. Think the Indian disdain for dark complexions: “Pushpa? But she’s so black!” Think Indian survival instincts: Manhur: “I have nothing!” Dilip: “Don’t focus on the facts!” It’s here, delivered with barrels of laughter that leave you with aching sides.

It’s not just the script or the acting that is funny. It is as much the way the entire play is put together with live acting, filmed clips and puppetry. Both the technical and the live aspects mesh perfectly without a hitch and the end result is a great comedy.

Despite the laughs, however, not every single little thing worked. For instance, the Bollywood style songs were at first very funny. However, there were too many of them and they stretched tiresomely long. With no subtitles to help non-Hindi speakers, the initial thrust of laughter became a little forced.

But, really, it was a minor flaw. Watch these plays, not just for laughs but also to see two very fine actors.

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MALAYSIA - Malay Mail 14/06/2005
THOSE INDIAN GUYS ARE FUNNY TO THE BONE

The best way to deal with stereotypes is to make fun of it, and “Those Indian Guys”, Rajeev Varma and Tarun Mohanbhai, were very good at it.

The comedy duo performed D’Arranged Marriage at The Actors Studio last week. Houses were packed, and it was easy to see why.

The one-man play D’Arranged Marriage is easily one of the funniest comedies to hit our shores this year.

Set in New Zealand in the middle of an immigrant Indian community, it tells the story of Sanjay who is pressured by his parents to get married.

Failure to do so would result in him “bringing shame to his dick”.

Sanjay finally relents to one visit to a potential bride, Neenu, who turns out to be the girlfriend of the village idiot Rundeep. Hilarious hi-jinks ensue as Sanjay falls in love with the girl.

The strength of the show was the portrayal of the characters, most of which wouldn’t look lost in an Austin Powers movie.

We have Sanjay’s parents – the pick of the lot – who would start to get amorous at the weirdest moments. They even had a theme song, some sort of a ‘70s porn groove, that indicates that they are aroused and are about to engage in passionate lovemaking.

Then there is the uncle, who takes pride in the much-publicised fact that he has had an extra-marital affair with Neenu’s mother.

Throw in Rundeep, the idiot who can’t stop pointing his fingers as if they were guns, and we have a queer bunch indeed.

At times, Varma (who performs the play alternatively with Mohanbhai) would break into song and dance routines, just like in a Bollywood movie – only much better.

He can certainly dance, highlighting the comedic moments to great effect and taking the play to greater heights than mere dialogue can.

Extremely confident on stage, he had the audience on a string.

The duo also occasionally inserted slide projections in D’Arranged Marriage to good effect – mainly to show some funny pictures of the characters cavorting about in New Zealand. It is always entertaining to see a man with a five o’clock shadow wearing a sari.

The story is a bit weak at times though. For one, Sanjay’s falling for Neenu is sudden and almost unexpected.

The transition of Sanjay from a bit of a cultural rebel to a lovelorn fool was not really smooth. But what was smooth was the transition between the characters. Varma did a good job alternating between each sick and twisted personality, switching from one to the other at will.

A comedy is judged by how well it brought on the laughs, and D’Arranged Marriage did that in abundance.

It’s a shame that its run has ended but Varma and Mohanbhai have another show ahead. It’s a prequel of D’Arranged Marriage. Called From India With Love, the play focuses on Sanjay’s parents and how they came to New Zealand in the 1950s. Judging from that, it may well prove double the fun as both Varma and Mohanbhai star in it.

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MALAYSIA - New Sunday Times 12/06/2005
HILARITY AT ITS INDIAN BEST
Monodrama D’ARRANGED MARRIAGE hits Kiren Kaur’s funny bone

Those Indian Guys: sounds vaguely like an Indian restaurant on Asian Heritage Row in KL. As I walked into the Actors Studio in Bangsar last week to catch these chaps’ show D’Arranged Marriage, I hoped it would be as good as the food in any restaurant (you know, Malaysians and our food).

I was not disappointed. From start to the grand finale, it was a blast. If you thought that Sanjeev Bhaskar (The Kumars at No. 42) was funny, well, these two young men from New Zealand could give him a serious run for his money: think Jay Leno, but Indian!

D’Arranged (deranged) Marriage is a 75-minute, no intermission, one-man train ride to Laughsville with the main character Sanjay (played alternately by Rajeev Varma and Tarun Mohanbhai) narrating his very personal and often hilarious journey to wedded bliss.

The set consisted of some lovely sparkly sari in various pastel hues, and that was about it really. A series of slides introduced us to all seven of the weird and wacky characters in his life, a brilliant touch.

Dear old Mamaji and Papaji were there, various uncles, a couple of friends, parents of the prospective bride and the self confessed hottie (bride) Neenu.

The crowd favourite were the typical Indian parents, Manhur and Puspha.

This is just one guy on stage playing all these characters, playing off Western values against traditional Indian ways in this play about arranged marriages.

All this, and a few Bollywood-style song and dance routines thrown in as well. It boggles the mind to think how he possibly thought he could get away with a ‘love’ scene but he did and the echoes of “oh munnu oh puspu” still ring.

Slap your thigh, laugh out loud and as everyone else is laughing so hard no one would even care that your laugh is weird.

It was really refreshing to see that Rajeev and Tarun did not subscribe to the tired, tested Indian gags and told a much more original piece.

Well yeah, arranged marriages aren’t exactly new but seeing it told from the eyes of an overseas Indian made me realise that you can take the Indian out of India but you can’t take India out of the Indian... cool. And how come no one told me it’s now lawyer/doctor/accountant — what happened to the engineer?

Worry not about any strange Indian words that might be thrown at you during the show, as it is all summarised at the beginning of the show.

Were there any major lessons to be learnt from this lighthearted tale of requited love? Well, most importantly, Indian men can do stand up comedy.

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NEW ZEALAND - Indian Newslink September 2004
COUPLE OF FUNNY GUYS ON STAGE

The audience may love to love them, love to hate or hate to hate but cannot go without watching them, if the rave reviews that they have had both sides of the Tasman are any indication; this writer would certainly lose forty winks over their performance.

Such is the almost impulsive addiction that Tarun Mohanbhai and Rajeev Varma of the D'Arranged Marriage fame bring to theatre enthusiasts. Who care if they are slapsticks, parodies or even situation comedies? A couple of hours of guffaws won't kill you!

If there is a method to madness, this is it. D'Arranged will be staged in Auckland (at the Herald Theatre) and Wellington (Circa Theatre) from May 18 to 22. "it will be staged on the same day, in different cities, at the same time," a notification says. Yet, the Auckland show begins at 8.45pm while in Wellington it would be from 8.30pm. Is there a time difference between the two cities? We told you, these guys are mad!

Frivolities apart, D'Arranged's one of those brilliant comedies that brings to life the goings on in an Indian family. It is a one-man show (Tarun in Auckland and Rajeev in Wellington) with all the trappings of what an Indian bride should and should not do, a love triangle and then the climax! Stating more of it would take the fun away.

If seeing one at a time is not enough, the two actors come together in Indian Invaders with a single engagement in Auckland's Silo Theatre (Lower Grey's Avenue) on May 8 at 7pm.

I haven't heard about this new play (comedy?) but publicist Felicity Letcher says it is the story of Manhur and Dilip (D'Arranged characters) destined for their new home in New Zealand form a small village in India. "Their dream to see the outside world is facilitated by their mate, Dave Patel who spins tales but the two guys find reality harsher."

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NEW ZEALAND - Waikato Times September 2004
REVIEW of D'ARRANGED MARRIAGE
By Gail Pittaway

Telecom Playhouse, Wel Energy Academy of Performing Arts, September 21-28.

The show that sold out the quickest at this year's Fuel Festival, D'Arranged Marriage, is an affectionate, irreverant look at Indian family customs in contemporary New Zealand. It is narrated by Sanjay, who at 25 is almost past his use-by date as a marriageable male. To continue this state could bring shame to more than his family - his manhood is under threat.

Sanjay's love, apart from PlayStation, is stand-up comedy and this is a clue to the show's structure and energy.

Created by Tarun Mohanbhai and Rajeev Varma, this performance by Tarun Mohanbhai is a monsoon of movement, language and characters. It's hard to believe one actor does it all. There's Sanjay's parents, the Guptas, their relatives, his friend, his enemy and the latest marriageable girl, Neenu. There are bedrooms, kitchens, cars, a zimmer-frame, the fantasy world of the Pappadum Blue Light Disco Dance Competition and the family dairy.

Gesture, voice and dance are supported by a well-synchronised sound-track. This passage from India is a winner.

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NEW ZEALAND - Hamilton Press September 2004
REVIEW of D'ARRANGED MARRIAGE
By Sarah Ninnes

Telecom Playhouse, Wel Energy Academy of Performing Arts, September 21-28.

D'ARRANGED Marriage is a one-man show that tells the story of a young Indian man called Sanjay who, at 25, is worrying his parents with his reluctance to get married.

Eventually agreeing to visit Neeu, a prospective bride his parents have chosen, he finds himself swept off his feet, only to discover she already has a boyfriend.

Created by Those Indian Guys, Rajeev Varma and Tarun Mohanbhai, and performed by Tarun, the show is a humorous exploration of Indian culture and customes, set in New Zealand, complete with cultural stereotypes and cliches.

The characters are initially introduced to the audience through a slide show. Thereafter, with very few props, Tarun leaps between the myriad of amusing characters, each instantly recognisable.

From the local sleazebag Rundeep, to Sanjay and his parents, to an elderly female customer - with zimmer - in the dairy where Sanjay works, Tarun moves with ease between them.

An impressive effort for one person. Tarun also gets his groove on in several dance extravanganzas, accompanied by music medleys, to hillarious effect.

An undeniably enjoyable and entertaining night out, Those Indian Guys look set for further success. The pair plan to return to Hamilton during the Hamilton Gardens Summer festival next year with the prequel to D'Arranged Marriage, Indian Invaders.

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NEW ZEALAND - The Dominian Post May 2004
RALLY ROUND FOR A GOOD LAUGH
by Lindsay Davis

Over the past three years, Wellington's Ben Hurley has proved himself one of the young guns of the comedy circuit.

A tireless worker for Wellington's weekly comedy nights at Indigo, he's just won the Oddfellows Billy T award.

After Tuesday night's political rally, it's easy to see why he's been given that "one to watch"; tag.

He began the evening with a discussion on the merits of talkback radio and from here launched his own political party because, as Australia's Kath Day-Knight would put it, politicians are well-known "pants men";.

With the aid of his laptop to deliver a PowerPoint presentation on party policy, the show cleverly took on the feel of a political rally.

And because all rallies need to give their supporter a break, he even included an intermission game of name the politician, with a slide show of cartoon characters as the only clues.

While his delivery was slightly rushed at times, and often lacked dramatic gestures, his insightful slice-of-life observations - especially about speed signs featuring a cow giving advice to a driver - were very funny.

If Hurley lacked in dramatic performance that cannot be said of Rajeev Varma's persona as Sanjay in D'Arranged Marriage.

An endless string of family members each had a defining gesture that made it easy for the audience to keep pace with his well-scripted story.

After a hilarious slide show setting the scene, Varma began telling the story of a young Indian boy who wakes to the fact that now he is 10 he should be thinking about getting married.

D'Arranged Marriage mines familiar territory for fans of television series The Kumars at No 42 and movie Bend it Like Beckham.

Varma's skilful characterization is on the money, and scenes such as the father's morning rituals at the sink all add a new twist.

From the neurotic nagging mother who's always cooking, to Sanjay's chosen bride, Neenu - the butter chicken in her father's life - who's bring cheated on by her chosen boyfriend, Rundeep, to the annoying cousin Sudefed, Varma proves he's up to the challenge of slipping in and out of various personalities without the aid of costume changes.

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NEW ZEALAND - The Nelson Mail September 2003
MARRIAGE OF WIT AND WISDOM
by Barbara Dunn

D'Arranged Marriage is a one-man show that takes a comic look at Indian values and the practice of arranged marriages. The show is written and performed by Tarun Mohanbhai, who takes on the persona of eight different characters, without costume changes, and little more than a chair and slides projections as props.

The story starts on Raj's 10th birthday. All he wants is GI Joe; all he gets is a picture of Neenu, the girl his parents have chosen as his future bride. Disappointed.

Jump five years. It's Raj's birthday and again the Playstation of his dreams doesn't eventuate. Ten years on, and no DVD for Raj. He's still getting pictures of Neenu, and at his 25 his grocery store-owning parents feel he's "close to his expiry date".

The fathers meet to discuss Raj and Neenu's marriage, and settle on a dowry of 100,000 rupees, or $100. A nervous Raj is taken to meet Neenu by his cousin Sudafed, a man with a ton of useless advice. Raj discovers he quite likes Neenu, which prompts a song and dance medley.

Unfortunately she's got a boyfriend and has no interest in him. But Neenu's boyfriend, Randeep, is also the boyfriend of a bevy of other girls, and some boys. Images of the other girls are projected on to a screen on stage.

"The last few don't even look like girls", comments Sudafed. Raj decides to tell Neenu about her multi-timing boyfriend, then goes off to drown his sorrows by becoming a standup comic. He's not much cop, but it's the sort of bad that's very funny to watch.

Eventually Neenu tracks him down. She's broken up with Randeep, saying she couldn't stand a man who was into making salads with baby oil. Raj and Neenu decide to marry. Neither is sure about the idea, but it doesn't seem any worse than the other choices they've made.

Playing a succession of characters requires precision changes in voice and mannerisms, and keep that up for an entire show is a big ask. Mohanbhai warmed up to the task, throwing in a masala of one-liners to spice up the story. This is an entertaining show that rolls along and leaves you feeling that the arranged marriage may not be as big a lottery as picking someone yourself.

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AUSTRALIA - Bharat Times Australia April 2003
DEFINITELY AN 'ARRANGED' COMEDY
By Manushri Bahukhandi

With the Indian culture being portrayed in the West through movies like Monsoon Wedding, Bend It Like Beckham, and doing quite well at that - to throw some light on what Indian 'ness' is, how could the theatre be left behind? This is what exactly the comedy D'Arranged Marriage did. The play is one of the 9 shows which are being played under one roof, during the week long Melbourne International Comedy Festival at the Forum Studios.

Created and Written by Tarun Mohanbhai and Rajeev Varma, the play's central theme is the on-going persuasion of the Indian family to get their son the perfect wife - a wife who can cook, clean, wash, in other words "THE perfect Indian wife". However the twist in all this is that all the characters are portrayed by one man, Tarun Mohanbhai. From bring an uncle for whom the shame on manhood is greater than the shame on one's own head to bring a grumpy father, only to smile while reminiscing his past, 'about how he found his wife'. Combined with this is bring a mother who is typical Indian pious homemaker, to being a cousin who is our own 'confused desi' and also the advisory friend (pun intended).

The story in a nutshell revolves around the parents fixing their son's wedding, and how Raj (Tarun Mohanbhai) is bombarded to marry, and thus begins, the trails and ordeals of having all his family putting in their best, to give their own 'valuable' advise.

But the real treat is seeing Tarun break into the 'Hollywood dance and song' routine, presenting the exact way an Indian mother would react if she heard the term Gay - needless to say, a very asthmatic reaction! To the use words like curry muncher, this definitely ensures hair-splitting laughter and at the same time the show is warm and hysterically funny! … And can make anyone laugh until tears start rolling down their cheeks. A must watch show for everybody, from a person who has gone through this very particular and peculiar norm and definitely to a person who hasn't gone through this whirlwind experience or even to people who just wants to experience the hilarious roller coaster ride the Indian way, rather the Tarun way.

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AUSTRALIA - Bharat Times Australia April 2003
D'ARRANGED MARRIAGE

Monsoon Wedding meets Bend It Like Beckham with a slice of My Big Fat Greek Wedding to top it all off!

On this 10 th birthday, Raj's parents announce, "Raj you are 10 now. Isn't it time that you thought about getting married?" Enter a birthday cake crowned with a picture of his bride-to-be. Adding to Raj's trials and tribulations are an uncle who years for the perfect woman who loves to cook, clean and play cricket, a Maori best friend and a potential bride with a boyfriend.

All these wickedly funny Indian characters are portrayed by Tarun Mohanbhai in the hilarious one-man show, D'Arranged Marriage. Add in a few Bollywood-style song and dance routines and you have the funniest parody of Indian family life since The Kumars at No. 42.

Directed by Rajeev Varma for a sell-out season at New Zealand's LAUGH! Comedy Festival, D'Arranged Marriage is making its Melbourne debut at the Forum during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. This is a show not to be missed by anyone who has been set up on a blind date… especially by their parents!

'All I can say is give a man a sari and he'll look funny for a day; give him a sari and a cricket bat and he'll look funny for life' Sunday Star Times.

'An irresistible show that is as warm as it is funny!'

Winner of the prestigious BEST PERSON TO SHARE A GREEN ROOM WITH and BEST OFF STAFE PERSONALITY AWARD at the 2002 NZ Comedy Guild Awards.

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AUSTRALIA - Sunday Age Melbourne April 2003
D'Arranged Marriage

Given the current vogue for all things Indian, it might seem that to be Indian is enough to be funny. Alas, it is not. Tarun Mohanbhai's story of an arranged courtship sounds as if it should be funny. In it he plays a range of Indian family types - a conniving, thick-headed father, a forceful mother, and even, unaccountably, a young Maori man who has nothing to do with the story line, and a lot one suspects, with the fact that Mohanbhai can do the accent - but the material is mostly uninspired. The bets bits are when the central character, Raj, tries his hand, fairly ineptly, as a stand-up comedian, the "loneliest profession in the world". He and his creator try hard, but in the end, they both fall a little flat.

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NEW ZEALAND - New Zealand Herald May 2002
COMEDY REVIEWS
By James McOnie

Fame, acclaim and $7000 are up for grabs in tonight's Billy T Awards in Auckland. The winner won't neccessarily take all, but will take the money. The nominees are:

TARUN MOHANBHAI
He's good, but Tarun Mohanbhai is not one in a million.

Consider the world's Indian population and you realise he's actually one in a billion and therefore his reach is considerable.

In some ways, he seems the perfect Billy T recipient. Like James, Mohanbhai is merciless with his culture's stereotypes.

However, his one-man play, D'Arranged Marriage - about a young Kiwi Indian named Raj and his blind date with destiny - is more than a one-joke wonder.

His song and dance routines are distinctly un-Indian and deliberately funny. Raj turns 10 and bursts into a medley finishing with Michael Jackson's Bad: "Who's 10?" To which his stroppy father - a crowd favourite - responds: "All this is very well but you are 10 now, you should be thinking about marriage."

And the slide shows are hilarious. All I can say is give a man a sari and he'll look funny for a day; give him a sari and a cricket bat and he'll look funny for life.

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AUSTRALIA - Newspaper 00/00/0000
REVIEW: EIGHT DEGREES OF IMAGINATION
By Chelsea Clark

Performed by: Tarun Mohanbhai Written by: Tarun Mohanbhai and Rajeev Varma
At The Studio, Sydney Opera House, until Saturday

There's no hiding the fact that a solo show is hard work for the performer. In Tarun Mohanbhai's case, the difficulty is doubled as he rapidly switches between either characters in his hour-long laugh at his Indian heritage in D'Arranged Marriage.

Written by Mohanbhai and Rajeev Varma, D'Arranged Marriage is another ethnic comedy based on the traditions of a different culture. But, unlike some others, it doesn't rely on outrageous-looking characters and visual humour.

There are no costumes in D'Arranged Marriage, just Mohanbhai in a traditional Indian tunic top and pants - cleverly he uses just his voice and posture to differentiate between the eight characters.

Mohanbhai's transitions between characters are smooth and almost flawless.

The one disappointment is that Mohanbhai didn't do complete justice to the seeming hilarious storyline about Raj, a young man being forced into an arranged marriage by his parents.

The funniest part of the show is when the hapless Raj tries his hand at stand-up comedy.

An enjoyable evening.