EditorKathputliyan Theatre Group presents “Dastak: Collection of 3 short plays” written by Sagar Sarhadi and directed by Zafer Mohiuddin at Ranga Shankara on the 14th and 15th of October. Kathputliyan Theatre Group is presenting this as a Tribute to the playwright Sagar Sarhadi. Dastak: A collection of plays written by Sagar Sarhadi during or post-partition The partition deeply impacted the playwright same is reflected in his writings.
Mirza Saheban is a parallel drawn from the tale of the lovers named Mirza and Saheban. The play discusses how religion creates a divide amongst familiar people even when they intrinsically don’t favour it. The difference in values of seculars vis-a-vis those of the hardcore religious fundamentalists is prominently showcased in this play.
Kisi Seema ki ek mamuli si ghatna is an exaggerated satire of what ‘an ordinary incident at the border would look like. It explores the extremes of the human psyche at the border; the hierarchy, the dynamics of power, and how it affects the overall system we are a part of. All in all, the play poses a huge question, that is, how far can humanity fall for a few imaginary lines?
Khayal ki Dastak is a play that showcases the meeting of two lovers, years after the girl has been married to someone else. This conversation is weaved such that both of them go through various emotions in this short meeting of theirs. The collection of these three plays is called Dastak.
Sagar Sarhadi (11 May 1933 – 22 March 2021) was an Indian short story and play writer, director, and producer for film. Born in Baffa (then in British India and now in Pakistan), he began writing Urdu short stories and then continued as an Urdu playwright. Sagar Sarhadi was Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award at ICA – International Cultural Artifact Film Festival in 2019 by Ashghar Wajahat.
He became popular in the film with Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhi (1976), starring Amitabh Bachchan and Raakhee. After that, he went on to write for cinema, including Noorie (1979); Silsila (1981) starring Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, and Rekha; Chandni (1989) starring Rishi Kapoor, Sridevi, and Vinod Khanna; Faasle starring Sunil Dutt, Rekha, Farooq Shaikh, and Deepti Naval; Rang (1993) starring Kamal Sadanah and Divya Bharti and directed by Talat Jani; Anubhav starring Sanjeev Kumar and Tanuja and directed by Basu Bhattacharya; Zindagi (1976); The Other Man; Karmayogi; Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai; Karobaar; Bazaar; Chausar and became a well-known name as a scriptwriter.
Zafer Mohiuddin
Zafer Mohiuddin is an architect, Urdu and Hindi Playwright, an established and seasoned actor par excellence, a multi-faceted and multitalented dire. He has been actively involved in theatre since 1979 and has worked extensively with many well-known theatre groups such as Samudaya, Bangalore Little Theatre, Manch, etc. He formed his very own theatre group, “Kathputliyaan Theatre Group,” with the main purpose of promoting Indian theatre, art, music and literature. His passion towards theatre started when he was a student, and he has also been a voice-over artist rendering his baritone voice to many advertisements, documentaries, and animated films. His interest in various things has made him a better director.
Zafer Mohiuddin has directed and acted in many plays, and they always have quality rather than quantity. He has also been part of “Bikhre Bimbh” with Arundhati Nag. He has written dialogues for “Malgudi Days.” His current directorial piece is Dastak.
Inspired by the words of William Shakespeare, “The world is a stage and all men and women are merely actors….,” Bangalore-based architect, voice-over, and theatre artiste, Zafer Mohiuddin conceptualized Kathputliyaan Theatre Group along with other trustees. This organization was fortor to focus on addressing significant social issues thindere to the progress and peace in our society through theatre and promoting Indian literature, Arts, Music, and theater.
The first play, “Darwaaze Kholdo,” was staged in 1988 post which the group presented several plays such as “Zabaan Mili Hai Magar,” “Vaastu Chakkar,” “Taj Mahal ka Tender,” “Ek tha Gadha,” “Daadh ka Dard,” and many more, all of which played to packed houses. Kathputliyaan embraced music and dance in its presentation encompassing the essence of performing arts and promoting it through runaway hits, “Zikr-e-Ghalib” and Tipu Sultan ke Khwaab written by Girish Karnad, translated and directed by Zafer Mohiuddin which again played to packed houses in India and abroad.
Venue: Ranga Shankara 36/2, 8th Cross Rd, R K Colony, 2nd Phase, J. P. Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560078
Date: October 14th and 15th, 2021
Time: 7 PM.
Tickets are priced at Rs. 250/- and available on www.bookmyshow.com
Editor
Meghana Harikumar
