Muhammad bin Tughluq (play)

Muhammad bin Tughluq
Cho performing as Tughluq in the DVD screenshot of the play
Written by	Cho Ramaswamy
Characters	Muhammad bin Tughluq Ibn Batuta Rangachari Thathachari
Date premiered	1968
Place premiered	Chennai
Original language	Tamil
Subject	Political satire comedy
Genre	Drama
Setting	Tamil Nadu and India

Muhammad bin Tughluq is a 1968 socio-political satire comedy play in Tamil written by Cho Ramaswamy. Cho also plays the titular character, Muhammad bin Tughluq, portraying the Sultan and the Indian political and social affairs in a sarcastic and humorous way. The play first premiered in 1968 and opened to instant success. Thereafter, with only a few changes in 1969, the play was enacted without any changes in respect with cast, dialogues, characters, costumes, settings etc. until present day. The play ran continually for a number of performances, whose success kindled a film of the same title in 1971.

The play ran continually well into the late 2000s, after which Cho and his team could not continue, due to the former's aging. The drama was released in DVD in Chennai and perhaps in other cities of Tamil Nadu.

Thathachari (Neelu) comically narrates a small anecdote of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq, though which he emphases on how the king had an arrogant attitude, indifferent view towards his kingdom and subjects, how he ill-treated his guests and also the kind of plans he introduced that backfired. When his son Rangachari (Rajagopal) goes on a mission to research on Tughluq, he finds a buried coffin which contains Tughluq (Cho), and his accomplice Ibn Batuta (Peeli Sivam) alive inside. They claim that they are the true Tugluq and Batuta buried several centuries ago along with a herb that has protected them and kept them alive until that day.

Tughluq gains instant fame and stays at Rangachari's house. He is interviewed by many newspaper journalists to whom he answers in a very sarcastic manner. He learns of all the changes of the past centuries, in just four days and comically remarks that the advancements of humanity, over the periods are no more than that of four days'. He decides to contest in elections to become the Prime Minister of India. In his political campaigns, Tughluq makes a satire of all of the politicians competing with him (in turn making parody on the politicians of real life).

Tughluq eventually wins the elections and forms a cabinet of ministers with the announcement that anyone who joins his party will become the Deputy Prime Minister. A total of 450 people join his party and all of them are made Deputy Prime Ministers. The news of Tughluq becoming the Prime Minister with 450 Deputies, rings in everyone's radios. The Rangachari family also become very overwhelmed at it.