KARACHI: Apart from a being worthy theatre practitioner, one remembers Fraz Chhotani as someone who used to accompany or escort the late Zia Mohyeddin in his sunset years to the Zia Mohyeddin Theatre at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) whenever the founder of the academy came to watch a performance or speak at an event. This means that Chhotani has learnt both on academic and personal levels from the great man, and also knows the nitty-gritty of the world of theatre. It seems he is inclined more towards the genre of comedy. The play Lottery Ka Lafrha directed by Fraz Chhotani and penned by Younus Chhotani, which ended its five-day run on Sunday, is a nice little piece of fun-filled series of events. (One has been reminded by the director that the drama had been staged some years back and was duly reviewed.) The play has Bachu Bhai (Hammad Siddique) at its centre, a Memon seth who has fallen on hard times and now owes money to a few people. His personality is fleshed out at the outset as he’s lying on a charpoy wearing a vest that has a big pouch in it where he keeps items such as fruit and small pieces of paper. In comes his nephew Zubair (Syed Qasim Shah) who occasionally gets pestered by his uncle’s demands. A phone call from a man called Haseen Gul (Ahmer Hussain) reveals that the caller is a Pakhtun and Bachu Bhai is in hock to him. Then the character of a butcher, Achhan (Hammad Khan) makes his entrance, also asking the seth to return the amount that he’d lent to Bachu. Just as Bachu Bhai — who has a partner gone nuts (portrayed by Hamza Ranjha) because of the lost money — tries to dodge the man he needs to give back moolah to, Zubair steps in revealing that Bachu/Zubair has won a lottery worth one million dollars after taking part in a draw that had taken place on the internet. This turns the whole situation on its head because now the seth boasts about getting Rs30 crore soon. Tables are turned and both Haseen Gul and Acchan try and win Bachu Bhai over claiming he’s their friend. And then comes another twist in the tail... Lottery Ka Lafrha is a simple, unfussy play. The performances are fine and the comedy quotient is reasonable. It steers clear from double-meaning lines, too, which has become a regular feature of today’s comedies produced for stage. The script doesn’t elicit guffaws, but does make one smile.