History gears up to serenade Bengaluru’s theatre audience this month. The Kathputliyaan Theatre Group, founded by director and actor Zafer Mohiuddin, celebrates its two play festival with shows of Zikr-e- Ghalib and Tipu Sultan Ke Khwaab to be staged over three consecutive weekends at Alliance Francaise, Jagriti Theatre and Ranga Shankara respectively.
Zikr-e- Ghalib is a musical play in Urdu, based on the 19th century poet’s letters and ghazals. The play sees Mirza Ghalib nostalgically looking back at copies of letters written to friends and family, and provides a peek into 19th century India through Ghalib’s eyes as he laments the coming of the British. Ghalib was closely associated with the Mughal court, and witnessed its decline at close quarters.
How was the idea for this musical conceptualised? Zafer Mohiuddin, who has directed the play and essayed the role of Ghalib says that he has been very fond of the poet’s works since his days in school. His interest in Ghalib’s ghazals was further piqued by the works of Gulzar and the renditions of Jagjit Singh. The idea for this play was conceived when Mohiuddin read a book on Ghalib’s letters compiled by eminent Urdu scholar, Dr. Khaliq Anjum. “These letters were in a very rich form of Urdu. In order to interpret and explain them to the audience, I decided to use dance as a medium,” says Mohiuddin. The dance sequences of the play have been choreographed by dancer Nandini Mehta and executed by Kathak dancer Smitha Srinivasan. The music has been rendered by ghazal singers Raghupati Jha and Ankita Kundu, accompanied by flautist Ashwini Kaushi, with Ajay Kumar Singh on the tabla and Sarfaraaz Khan playing the saarangi.
Much like Ghalib’s poetry, the play is replete with pathos, reflecting the poet’s suffering as the Mughal Empire declined, taking with it his patronage. Considering Ghalib’s immensely voluminous work, Mohiuddin says, “Making a play of just 90 minutes was a difficult task. Choosing which ghazals and letters to use involved a lot of trial and error, while keeping the audience in mind.”
How much Urdu does the layman need to know to understand the play? “If you can understand Hindi films, you can understand my play,” says Mohiuddin. “We don’t realise that we use a lot of Urdu in our day-to-day use of Hindi.”
Tipu Sultan Ke Khwaab is based on a Kannada play written by Girish Karnad, Tippuvina Kanasugalu . While different studies have portrayed Tipu, the erstwhile ruler of Mysuru, through various lenses, Mohiuddin says he was drawn to Tipu’s resistance to the British, in spite of not being able to summon the support of the Marathas and the Nizam.
Mohiuddin’s production is the first to be staged in Hindustani, which is a combination of Hindi and Urdu. The play also sees a smattering of Dakhini in scenes where Tipu Sultan converses with family members, as he belonged to Devanahalli, where this dialect was spoken.
This mammoth production sees 25 live actors on stage, while Mohiuddin has trained two actors for each role, keeping in mind the number of shows and possible strains on the actors. The actors have undergone rigorous training with regard to the language and accent.
What are some of the aspects to be kept in mind while staging a historical play? “My previous plays have mostly questioned existing social perceptions. This is my first foray into the historical. There are certain elements that have contributed to creating an authentic setting. The costumes, designed by G.S. Jayanthi are detailed and rich. The music, by Ustad Faiyaz Khan, sees the use of the sitar, tabla, sarod and saarangi to create aalaps that generate pathos. The lighting is by Pradeep Belawadi and make up by Uma Maheshwar,” says Mohiuddin.
“The playwright himself, Girish Karnad, was pleased with this play, and that is the biggest compliment I could get,” said Mohiuddin.
Zikr-e- Ghalib will be staged on August 12 at 7 pm and Tipu Sultan Ke Khwaab will be staged on August 13 at 3 pm and 7 pm at Alliance Francaise, Vasanth Nagar.
