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  In search of fate

In search of fate

Published : Jun 24, 2016, 2:23 am IST
Updated : Jun 24, 2016, 2:23 am IST

The play Mukti Prasang, as the director rightly pointed out, could have an alternative title — Congress House — as most of the proceedings of the play occur in the Congress House.

The play Mukti Prasang, as the director rightly pointed out, could have an alternative title — Congress House — as most of the proceedings of the play occur in the Congress House. The solo performance by Nawab Shah with the help of Priyanka as a procurer of properties and Hriday Desai as a singer and sutradhar is an intense show based on the poetry of Rajkamal Chowdhary. Through his poems, Nawab takes us through Rajkamal’s tumultuous inner life and his physical life with a touch of irony.

The imagery in the poem is very complex and does not lend itself to easy visualisation. He talks about everything under the sun, from love to hate, to insult to praise and he describes the scenario as he goes around. Rajkamal Chowdhary led a very hectic life and died very young. He was an iconoclast being, destroying almost everything that was expected by the cultured class in his times. He had a free mind and concocted his own rules of living.

Nawab Shah who has made his home in Bollywood was reasonably good in his interpretation of Rajkamal Chowdhary. He tended to be very stiff occasionally. But he has a low-timbered voice which is very powerful. The interaction of the director at two points in the play made the play interesting. One was when he came up with the story of Congress House and secondly, when he came up on stage to interrupt a scene where Nawab and Priyanka were going over the top. Priyanka is a delightful actor who performed with spontaneity and energy.

However the mainstay of the production was Hriday Desai, who with his beautiful voice, whether singing classical or filmy tunes, was a class apart. And to this despite that he has just recovered from an accident.

The play was well directed by Suchit. The play was staged at The Habitat Centre as part of their Old-World Cultural Organization. The play was presented by V.K. Sharma as a conclusion of the children’s theatre workshop held at The Habitat Centre.

The play Apne Apne Bhagya is borrowed from the rich folklore of Kazakhstan. V.K. and his wife Kiran Deep have excelled in children’s theatre in the past and this was no exception. Children of the 6, 8, 12 and 14 were on stage to enact the story of a young man who leaves his village in order to pursue his fate. There were two actors playing this role. The second actor’s performance was impressive. The play readily takes on the Indian ethos and one doesn’t realise that it is a foreign story. The villagers and their children resemble the villagers of India and this man taking it into his heart to go to look for his fate is a common phenomenon in India also, with people wanting to travel away from their homes in search of a better future. This man also gets enough money to return to his village having made it good while he was away from home. In fact, he wins a kingdom to call his own.

The children were very confident and good in their performances except for the singing, which was weak, thanks largely to the piano player who was not decisive about his playing.

The tunes were pleasing by themselves but did not go down as well with the children. The costumes were well thought of and the lights were good. Generally, the play was of good standard as expected of V.K. and Kiran of Khilona.