'We use the pen to fight atyachar'

An IDEA that changed the face of staging street plays

The pen is mightier than the sword and that's what this group believes in. This group IDEA u2014 Ideal Drama & Entertainment Academy was started by Mujeeb Khan (49), with Aliyah Jabeen and Habib Khan.

Today, they have grown to 40 members. Mujeeb is almost single-handedly working for the promotion of hindustani theatre for many years. IDEA has been staging plays on relevant social issues from time to time, mostly topical, relevant to the people in general, affecting their day-to-day activities. IDEA also conducts workshops in schools and colleges.

Mujeeb said, "In 2005, we took up Munshi Premchand's plays as it was his 125th birth anniversary." He added, "Now, it's the fifth year, and we have completed staging 222 plays."

He elaborated, "There's no single group in the world that has covered so many of this dramatist's works." This group will complete staging all of his 280 stories by July 31, 2010 u2014 day that marks his birth anniversary.

Mujeeb's love affair with dramatics started when he was 18. He staged a play called, Aap Zinda Hai, Aap Jagruth Hai, Aap Sochtey Hai.

Ismath Chugtai, an eminent Indian Urdu writer, who saw the play remarked, "When I saw your play I was moved; dil choo liya."u00a0

This play was against the education system, which highlighted how people got degrees but no jobs. He recalled how when they staged it in Mumbai, "The VC of Mumbai University got disturbed and called the police. So some 200 cops surrounded us (five actors), but they didn't find anything really objectionable."

Justice for all
Since then, they have been putting up street plays that touch upon social issues like the dowry system, bribes, gutka and liquor consumption, drug abuse, AIDS and the list goes on.

They had put up plays to highlight social issues where the public intervened for justice like Justice for Jessica on the Jessica Lall case and Nathari ke Nanhe Masoom Bacche.

And the reaction of people watching the plays has been remarkable. "The people's reaction is strong. A street play that deals with topics that are close to people's heart's has a deep impact," Mujeeb explained.

"In fact, when we staged a play on the issue of gutka, man said right there that they would stop having gutka!"

"We use the pen to fight any atyachar," said Mujeeb.

There's a strong passion to promote theatre in this group. As Kazi Mushtaq, a writer and National Award winner for his short stories, observed, "I'm a writer and I work for promoting Urdu, Hindi and Hindustani theatre."

(Catch the group on January 30 at Nehru Memorial Hall, when theyu00a0 stage the play Benaam Rishte written by Kazi Mushtaq.)