To pay tribute to Begum Qudsia Zaidi, the pioneer of the modern Indian theatre, Experimental Theatre NCPA, Mumbai presented Aazar Ka Khwab this past week at Abhimanch auditorium to a jam packed hall. The presentation was a part of her centenary celebrations. She has left an indelible imprint on the contemporary Indian theatre movement. A versatile creative personality, her adapted scripts, especially her two works, “Khalid Ki Khala” and “Aazar Ka Khwab”, are being presented at regular intervals in the Hindi belt. Last year, on the Delhi stage we witnessed two productions of “Khalid Ki Khala”, one by the National School of Repertory Company and another by an amateur group. Both these plays evoked tremendous response from the audience.
The founder of the Hindustani theatre along with Habib Tanvir, Zaidi’s vision was steeped in the aesthetics of great dramatic works of the West as well as in Indian classical and folk heritage. It was no wonder if the first production of the Hindustani theatre was “Shakuntala” (1958) which was directed by Moneeka Misra. Among the western playwrights she was impressed with were Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw and Bertolt Brecht. She had her own refreshing technique of adaptation of foreign plays, capturing its essence and its universality, investing it with social life of India and its ethos. The characters act in Indian milieu and are identifiable. They are endowed with a life and energy of their own. For example Shaw’s “Pygmalion” becomes “Aazar Ka Khwab”, “Eliza Doolittle” becomes “Hajjo”, Prof. Higgins Aazar, Eliza’s father is called Khairati. Prof. Higgins’ mother becomes Aazar’s phoophi (aunt). The kind of language these characters speak, the costumes they wear and their mannerism reflect the class and caste distinctions prevalent in Indian society.
Directed by Atul Tiwari, eminent theatre director, “Aazar Ka Khwab” is remarkable for its innovative design and an uninterrupted dramatic flow of the action. The props are minimal with four arches to create the required background for the action. Their placing on the stage keeps on changing swiftly and rhythmically to suggest the specific locales. Though most of the directors based on Mumbai use box-set which more often than not interrupts smooth transfer of the action from one situation to another, Tiwari has departed from this device to make his production free from clutter. The production with students cast seems to be adequately rehearsed which enables the performers to give their best. As far as the Urdu accent is concerned, Javed Akhtar helped out the cast to improve their pronunciation. Atul has made another departure as regards the denouement of the play. While adhering to the script, Atul has taken the liberty to introduce songs to the script. Written by him, the score is conceived by Kuldip Singh. These songs are not used to transform the production into a musical as it is conceptualized in the musical version of the play, widely popular as “My Fair Lady” (Alan Lerner and Fredevick). Set in a variety of ragas, the songs are rendered by chorus between the change of the scenes to reinforce the right mood and briefly narrates the forthcoming events.
The protagonist of the play is Hajjo, a poor girl who sells fruits in the street to make both ends meet. Aazar, a linguist, makes a bet with his friend Farhat that he would transform this illiterate girl into a highly sophisticated woman of grace and beauty to be welcomed in the high society as its honorable member. The implementation of the project unfolds a chain of reactions and counter-reactions, evoking a variety of moods ranging from light-hearted amusement to bitterly agonising. For Aazar and Farhat the climax is an occasion to celebrate their victory. For Hazzo it is the moment of protest, self-discovery and awakening to her confidence in her potential and the selfish and self-centered world of intellectuals.
The director gives an open-ending denouement to his production. She confronts her own dilemma as to whom she should select her future husband among her three suitors – Aazar, Farhat and Fareed. She leaves it to the audience to suggest one for her. (The director is inspired by Shaw’s long post-scriptum to give his production a new interpretation).
Keeping in view the development of the character of Hajjo and her hatred for those who have treated her as mere material for their experiment and have disdain for her class, she should reject them and select Fareed who is madly in love with her as her life-partner— this option seems to be more logical for a young woman who have acquired wisdom after going through bitter and humiliating experience.
Some of the scene like the one depicting the party at the Nawab’s haveli are remarkable for their elegance, excitement and the men and women of high society in their beautiful dress. There is an air of excitement. Here in this atmosphere Hajjo emerges as the finest lady in the clothes that are object of envy of the fashionable woman of the town. Costumes by Richa Sharad and choreography by Pooja Pant lend magical charm to the scene. In contrast, the climactic scene in which Hajjo expresses her deeply felt anguish at the callous attitude of the linguist and his collaborator who completely ignore her at the glorious moment of the grand success and have treated her just a guinea pig to carry out their experiment.
Surleen Kaur in the leading role of Hajjo truly lives her character, making her transformation from an ordinary, poor and foul mouthed girl to a perfect lady of high society, convincing. In her protest, her Hajjo vehemently indicts the linguist and his associate, Niranjan Javir as Aazar, the intelligent, arrogant and hardworking linguist, Siddarth Khirid as Farhat the associate of Aazar, Ashok Kangude as Khairati, the selfish father of Hajjo and Sneha Kate as Phoophi amma, the sober, mature and compassionate aunt of Aazar create vivid portraits of their characters.
