The story of real people

Aasakta’s award-winning play portrays a people’s history of war and struggle

April 28, 2016 04:26 pm | Updated 04:26 pm IST - Bengaluru

Reaching deep into the mind: A still from Mein Hoon Yusuf Aur Yeh Mera Bhai

Reaching deep into the mind: A still from Mein Hoon Yusuf Aur Yeh Mera Bhai

Toru Dutt, the much published but short-lived 19th century Indian poet, had a very interesting observation to make on literature. “Novels are true and histories are false”, she is supposed to have said—clearly stating her preference—when someone asked her sister Aru, why they liked novels over histories. If we extend this idea of novels to mean fiction in general, it is easy to see what she means after watching Mein Hoon Yusuf Aur Yeh Hai Mera Bhai . While mainstream history is the story of the conqueror, subaltern fiction—which although not real, can nonetheless be true—has the capacity to subvert it in beautiful ways.

Mein Hoon Yusuf Aur Yeh Hai Mera Bhai, Salima Raza’s Hindi-Urdu translation of Amir Nizar Zuabi’s play, directed by Mohit Takalkar and performed by team Aasakta of Pune, has been making waves since it bagged the META Awards 2016 in five categories: Sound Design, Light Design, Lead Actor Male, Best Director and Best Play. It played in Ranga Shankara recently and left audience spellbound.

The play is set in 1948 Palestine, when the British mandate ends and the UN led partitioning of the country results in a war – the first of many – where people become refugees in their own land. The story narrated mostly through the point of view of Yusuf, a grown man with the psychological capacity of a child, is that of love, betrayal, separation and forgiveness – and hope in the middle of despair. While the political situation is the subtext, it seeps in subconsciously as the audience laughs and cries with the characters playing out their lives. This story of war is the story of the people; people that are not numbers or mere collateral damage in power-games, but are real people with real concerns, strengths and weaknesses.

There is no questioning the actors’ talent. Yusuf tugs at our heart strings with his innocent grasping of the happenings around him; Nada and Ali’s love would invoke personal memories of longing and loss, and the pathos of destroyed lives that the others portray is very palpable. Replete with symbolism – such as that of a man fleeing persecution, carrying an uprooted tree in the hope of planting it again someday – the experiments of representation in the play are certainly novel!

The award-winning light design was every bit an alive being in its own right. Its skilful artistry created temporal and spatial illusions recreating history on a wooden platform. The minimal set — a wooden bench in the beginning and the end, and a rock in between — ensured that the focus of the play remained on the actors’ prowess, which they carried out with aplomb.

The older Nada comes in singing with a robust voice after every poignant scene. Her woeful singing, albeit in an alien language (Palestinian Arabic?), ensured that only the stone-hearted in the auditorium were left dry-eyed. The play exhibits keen involvement in its eye for detail. The successful rendition of the rather ambitious Yorkshire accent of the British officer, for instance, was proof of the team’s professionalism.

A more niche piece of information that Yusuf’s relationship with his sibling is inspired by the biblical Yusuf/Joseph, son of Yaqub/Jacob, adds depth to the already deep plot. The play is so gripping that it would take hours to get out of the thoughtful mood it puts you in. One cannot help admire the team’s power in reaching deep into the minds of the audience .

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