Some words, penned with such truth and beauty, transcend the inevitable passage of time. Even today, Sahir Ludhianvi’s lyrics survive their creator, thriving in countless hums and renditions. And every once in a while, it is necessary to remember the man who wrote them, and the life he led. This is exactly what the recently staged play, “Parchhaiyan” did, and actor Tom Alter as Sahir Ludhianvi brought the legend to life at the Genesis Global School.
Interestingly, Alter and Suhail Akhtar Warsi, the play’s writer and director, chose to include the school’s children in the cast, a move that further familiarised the students to Ludhianvi’s life.
Associated with the school for years, Alter spoke of the enthusiasm and the hard work the students worked on the play with. “I am very fond of this school. It's the fourth play I have done here. And to think that the students only got one and half days to rehearse. They were great on stage! And many of them, who don’t know Sahir, will hopefully get to know of him now.”
Alter feels that while the play brings to the stage the life and times of a man who lived large and wrote some of the finest lyrics the Hindi film industry has heard, there is no particular message that it tries to send to the audience.
“There is no moral of the story, no message. Those things are for newspapers and books. This is the life story of a man, and his life itself is a lesson. It is difficult to limit it to just one thing. He was such a big man and he saw so much.”
Essaying the role of an older Ludhianvi, who sits drinking and reminiscing the hours away, Alter infuses both strength and pathos into his character. His regret, though, is that he never really got a chance to meet Ludhianvi.
“By the time I came to the film industry in 1974, he was already a legend. When his name was mentioned, you could see the respect and awe in the silence. He was famous for his sharp tongue, for his romantic nature. I didn’t end up trying to meet him and it never really happened by chance.”
The scriptbrings together the multiple nuances and facets of Ludhianvi’s life, including within it the political and historical events that had affected the poet’s life. Involved in the struggle for Independence as well as deeply affected by the Partition of India, Ludhianvi’s lyrics and poems reflected his inner turmoil.
“With a script like this you require very little research. What the writer wants to tell you he does through the script. You just stick to what the writer is saying and you see that it has everything. And after that, you learn more about the man by looking at his pictures, studying his personality, his gait,” says Alter.
Praising the script, which uses Ludhianvi’s own words from his lyrics and poems as dialogues, Alter added, “I am very lucky that I never have to do a play unless I like the script.”
A veteran with countless successful roles to his credit, Alter has also made his mark on the Indian theatre and today hopes to bring alive the characters of Jinnah and Nehru on stage.
Ending the conversation on a musical note, Alter says that his favourite Ludhianvi song is “Chalo Ek Baar Phir Se, Ajnabee Ban Jaye Hum Dono”.
“I am not an expert, but I don't think that in any poem in any language, that thought has been expressed this beautifully. It is such an amazing stunning thought.”
