It's a family affair

Catch Naseeruddin Shah and his family and friends as they perform two plays in succession over this weekend. If the Shah of Shah's is not reason enough, then trust us, Heeba and Imad make up for it

Two men are sitting under a tree by the road waiting for somebody, who never comes.

On the other hand, a woman waits for her husband every night but he prefers his boyfriends to her. Heard them, watched them and yet these stories seem to draw our attention every single time.

These are stories about love, sex and war with different situations but a similar essence. Catch Naseeruddin Shah this weekend on stage, as two plays -- Waiting for Godot and Manto Ismat Haazir Hai, hit the Bangalore stage.

While the former is world renowned and has probably been performed as many times as any Shakespeare favourite, the latter is about two short stories -- Bu ( Odour) by Saadat Hasan Manto, and Lihaaf ( The quilt) by Ismat Chughtai.

Naseeruddin Shah, Benjamin Gilani, Randeep Hooda and Akash Khurana team up for Samuel Becket's ' Waiting for Godot' while ' Manto Ismat Haazir Hai,' will feature Heeba Shah among many others.

Dealing with a plethora of themes like obscenity, moral policing, lesbianism and prostitution, these two plays are sure to be a treat for the theatre lovers. " Bangalore's audience is very reactive.

They understand theatre and so it is always a pleasure to perform for them," says Heeba, who will be playing the role Begum Jaan in Lihaaf.

However, Immaduddin ( Imad) Shah, playing the role of these writers, says, " It is a challenge, but not that difficult because the short stories and plays go together very well. They can be meshed into the other. As an actor it is not much of a difficulty because the characters are written so well -- the actor's job thus becomes very interesting and I enjoy it," says Immaduddin Shah.

We discover more about the production in this quick tete- a- tete with Imad that reveals so much more about the experience: Priyanjali Ghose : What were the challenges you faced as an actor? Immaduddin Shah: Personally -- not too many.

It's a complete work- out for the actors. We have to speak in different languages, sing in Punjabi and I am doing a double casting in one of the stories. Manto and Ismat have written irreverent and brilliant pieces -- and society followed their opinion -- they have created very tender communications between the characters. The play questions, ' What's obscene and what's not'? The play talks about war and love and sex and questions whether they really are obscene or not? Society earlier thought these portrayals to be obscene, but now we have moved on -- it's thus a very valid play.

PG : How different is the theatre from the movies?
IS : The entire process of acting and performing is different when one takes into consideration the scale of things. The camera captures more minute details but in theatre or on stage it's just one shot, no repeated takes, no second chances and it's a different kind of stamina that's needed.

PG : Future Plans?
IS : I am writing my own film and the next big plan is to have my own movie, which I will do only when I have the budget! ( He smiles).

The line- up Waiting for Godot : This English play is in two acts.

Vladimir and Estragon sit on the road and start waiting for somebody called Godot. They are not strangers to each other but are meeting each other after many years. A boy comes with the message that Godot will soon come.

However, in the next act also the waiting continues and the character Godot never turns up. The conversations and the twists in the narrated storyline make the play all the more interesting.

On: February 20 Manto Ismat Haazir Hai Bu : Saadat Hasan Manto is the author of this story titled Bu ( Odour).
He was tried in the Lahore court in the 1940s on the charges of obscene writing. In this play Randhir, a character shares his sexual experiences with a woman from the backward class and compares it to the sexual encounter with his pretty, fair and groomed wife. However, he describes the moments and harps on the fakeness inherent in society. The play shows how Randhir is tormented and aroused by the memories of the smell of that tribal woman, whom he finds more sexually appealing.

Lihaaf: It is a story by Ismat Chughtai, who along with Manto was accused of obscenity. A narrator tell the story of a woman Begum Jaan, who is married to a homosexual. Sexually deprived, she tries to find solace in the girl who comes to give her a massage every afternoon. One afternoon when the masseuse does not come, Begum Jaan molests the narrator.

In the name of those married women: It is Ismat Apa's hilarious account of what happened when Manto and Chughtai went to Lahore for trail. It describes subtle and humorous moments of their journey to the court and the interrogation.

The Dog of Titwal: A dog suddenly lands up in Pakistan during Indo- Pak partition.

While Indians claim their right on it, the Pakistanis say that it is their dog. In the process, the dog dies. The play brings out how war affects innocent lives.

At Chowdiah Memorial Hall ON February 20 and 21, 6.30 pm onwards CALL 2341 4681 TICKETS Rs 300, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000