Postmaster Javed Siddique delivers two new plays

The theatre group Essay Communications celebrates its tenth anniversary with two new plays Chaurangi and Mulla Re Mulla as well as a tribute to language and poetry

The theatre group Essay Communications celebrates its tenth anniversary with two new plays Chaurangi and Mulla Re Mulla as well as a tribute to language and poetry

Bollywood veteran and senior playwright Javed Siddique complains that his daughter pesters him for new plays. "Salim (Arif) is the leader of the group and Lubna (Salim) is the chief whip. She takes advantage of being my daughter and makes my life quite miserable," he states.

Salim Arif, Javed Siddiqui, Lubna Salim and Rekha Bharadwaj caught in
a candid moment at Prithvi Theatre. Pic/Anuja Gupta

To which, Lubna promptly replies, "Kamaal hai, hum itna bhi nahi kar sakte! But if I don't pester him, he'll come up with excuses that he doesn't have the time or he'll insist that I remind him and when I do, he complains." Father, daughter and son-in-law exchange mischievous grins and Lubna adds, "No, but he's a darling."

Although Javed saab has had a steady fan base among theatre lovers (his adaptation of AR Gurney's Love Letters, Tumhari Amrita gets packed houses even after 18 years), he has written two new plays after a long time. The new offerings -- Chaurangi and Mulla Re Mulla -- reflect the playwright's scope.

Chaurangi, a collection of four one-act plays, is based largely on real life events, which have been dramatised. With the new plays, Javed saab goes back to his favourite 'letter-writing' style of narration. "I've written so many plays in which letters play a pivotal role, (Tumhari Amrita, Aapki Soniya, etc.), that Farooq Sheikh once told me that I've become a postmaster," he quips, adding, "In Mati Kahe Kumhar Se, an entire storyline is portrayed through letters. Champa ki Chitthi, on the other hand, is a flight of fantasy where a girl who is being forced into prostitution writes a letter to God and it's interesting to see in which form God appears," explains the award-winning dialogue writer, who has worked with the likes of Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal and Yash Chopra.

The other play that premiers as part of the anniversary celebrations is Mulla Re Mulla, which is based on the mystic jester Mulla Nasruddin. It portrays the love for language that the theatre group has maintained over the years. Javed Saab humbly explains, "Mulla's personality is so overwhelming that beyond a point it is the character that dictates its dialogues and I am simply the medium to jot it down" Salim Arif, who has directed both the plays, adds, "In a bid to make sure that every audience member understands each word, the language of theatre seems to have lost its range. But we make it a point to get our actors to recite Urdu poetry as part of workshops so that they get a hang of the rhythm of the language."

The festival also includes two poetry-related sessions -- Yaar Julahe, in which Gulzar will read his translation of Rabindranath Tagore's poetry and Gulon Mein Rang Bharo, a tribute to Faiz by Rekha and Vishal Bharadwaj.

The anniversary celebration commence from today at Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Vile Parle (W). Call: 26149546