Theatre actor and director Nadira Babbar’s parents — Sajjad Zaheer and Razia Sajjad Zaheer — were writers and the founders of Progressive Writers Association. Her childhood inculcated her inclination for literature, eavesdropping on conversations and meetings at home. “my parents were extremely fond of Hyderabad,” she recollects, while in the city to stage the Makrand Deshpande-directed play Mere Maa Ke Haath, based on her mother. The play opened the ongoing Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival 2017.
Ask her to point out one factor that she likes about Hyderabad, and she says it’s the city in its entirety. “ Yeh mausam, ghoomna, khaana , the great sense of humour makes me want to revisit Hyderabad time and again.”
Reminiscing the times that laid a strong foundation to her career, she says, “The atmosphere around me did contribute to my love for the stage. The love for literature was obvious. That’s when I started doing theatre, as an amateur.” A stint at the NSD (National School of Drama) and Germany enriched her theatrical potential and helped her make a career out of it.
Running a theatre production house that has sustained over three decades hasn’t been easy for the Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee, who has witnessed many of her counterparts moving away to more ‘fetching’ formats such as the television, cinema and advertisements. Yet, producing over 60 plays that have mirrored social stigmas and issues, she hasn’t bowed to commercial necessities. She says, “ Mushkil toh hai . All I did was to get my priorities straight. Over these four decades, I never wanted to do theatre to promote myself, I’ve only cast myself in two plays. People trust me as a person of integrity and status, that’s why they stuck around and I made my good audience who respect and love me.”
Written by herself, she holds Mere Maa Ke Haath close to her heart. It is special, it is mom after all, she states. The play sees the involvement of three generations of the Zaheers. Razia Zaheer led a difficult life and yet was a lively person — full of laughter, creative zeal and compassion, and unfettered by the problems around her. Nadira admits the personal involvement has been emotionally draining, “Given her (Razia) depth as a person, I don’t think the play can show everything. With regard to the emotional attachment with the play, it does get tough, but when when you rehearse for one and a half months, you get induced to her personal growth and stay with the character.”
For Nadira, films could never replace her natural love for the theatre. “It is live art. Nothing gives me more pleasure than being in the presence of audience watching me. The camera cannot match that. The moment you shoot a scene, it’s dead.”
She started her theatre career at a time when it was a tool for activism. Has theatre been reduced to another weekend entertainment format? “I don't think the medium is being diluted as an entertainment option.” She makes it a point to make her productions mirror society. “That's why I don’t do commercial theatre or frivolous comedies. It’s through social issues that I find resonance,” she claims.
Appreciation or criticism haven’t affected her performances. With criticism, she’s particular about who says it. “I always see who is criticising me, whether it is someone who truly understands and respects theatre.” She advises theatre-enthusiasts to study theatre to know its intricacies and grammar.
