Crossing borders with NAPA
Napa to participate in the largest theatre festival in Asia, at the thirteenth Bharat Mohatsav.
KARACHI:
After enchanting the audience of Pakistan with an immaculate depiction of a post partition Pakistani household, Napa (National Academy of Performing Arts) is all set to perform Khwabon Kay Musafir at the 13th Bharat Rang Mohatsav in India. The play has been written by the legendary Urdu writer Intezaar Hussain and has been directed by the legendary Zia Moheyeddin.
The Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) started a decade ago by the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi which is known to be one of the most renowned drama schools in the world. From being a national festival that presented the work of some of the most creative theatre artistes in India, the event has grown to become an international festival that hosts theatre companies from around the world. Today, the Bharat Rang Mahotsav is acknowledged as the largest theatre festival in Asia.
However, this is not the first time that Napa or any theater troupe from Pakistan has participated in the festival, Tehrik e Niswan and Ajoka have also participated before. The participants of the 12th Bharat Mohatasav admit that they can still not forget the response they received on the Pakistani rendition of the Indian myth of Shakuntala.
Akbar Islam, a Napa graduate who was a cast member of Shakuntala last year and will also be playing one of the main roles in Khwabon Kay Musafir, shares his Indian experience with The Express Tribune. “It was a great honour for me to represent Pakistan with Shakuntala and now to be a part of Khwabon Kay Musafir at a platform like the NSD is a dream come true for any thespian in the world,” commented Islam.
Islam further added that last years the response was phenomenal because the Indians were astounded to see such a different rendition of their own mythological story with Kaalidasa and the play received so much support from the crowd that we had to do a second round of the performance on public demand.
Last year, Shakuntala reportedly received a great response from the Indian press with The Delhi Mail reviewing the play under the headline, “Shakuntala comes home via Pakistan.”
However, this time around with expectations soaring high, the genre of the play chosen falls under a different category altogether with the directorial aesthetics of Zia Mohyeddin.
Islam, who is also the administrator of Napa Repertory Theater company commented on this years play selection, “First of all this is an original play by Pakistan so technically it is our own play, secondly, it deals with the clash that occurs between the different cultural lineages that migrants from different regions (largely from India) brought with them to Pakistan. So there will be much to relate to for the audience.”
“The NSD is a great platform, from the Germans to the Japanese — all kinds of theatre is performed at this platform — and for Pakistanis to be performing on the same stage and getting appreciation from a more much mature audience is an achievement in itself,” says Ali Rizvi. Rizvi has been to India before with Tehrik e Niswan and is a staunch believer that theatrical education has not gone in vain but in fact, platforms such as the NSD give recognition to the arts.
The cast of the play includes Aiman Tariq, veteran television actor Ayesha Khan, Akbar Islam, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Ali Shiekh, Ali Rizvi, Owais Mangalwala and Rauf Afridi accompanied by crew and senior faculty member Rahat Kazmi.
The 13th Bharat Mohatsav began on January 7 and will end on the 22nd of January, Khwabon Kay Musafir will be performed on January 22 at the LTG Auditorium in New Delhi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2011.
After enchanting the audience of Pakistan with an immaculate depiction of a post partition Pakistani household, Napa (National Academy of Performing Arts) is all set to perform Khwabon Kay Musafir at the 13th Bharat Rang Mohatsav in India. The play has been written by the legendary Urdu writer Intezaar Hussain and has been directed by the legendary Zia Moheyeddin.
The Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) started a decade ago by the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi which is known to be one of the most renowned drama schools in the world. From being a national festival that presented the work of some of the most creative theatre artistes in India, the event has grown to become an international festival that hosts theatre companies from around the world. Today, the Bharat Rang Mahotsav is acknowledged as the largest theatre festival in Asia.
However, this is not the first time that Napa or any theater troupe from Pakistan has participated in the festival, Tehrik e Niswan and Ajoka have also participated before. The participants of the 12th Bharat Mohatasav admit that they can still not forget the response they received on the Pakistani rendition of the Indian myth of Shakuntala.
Akbar Islam, a Napa graduate who was a cast member of Shakuntala last year and will also be playing one of the main roles in Khwabon Kay Musafir, shares his Indian experience with The Express Tribune. “It was a great honour for me to represent Pakistan with Shakuntala and now to be a part of Khwabon Kay Musafir at a platform like the NSD is a dream come true for any thespian in the world,” commented Islam.
Islam further added that last years the response was phenomenal because the Indians were astounded to see such a different rendition of their own mythological story with Kaalidasa and the play received so much support from the crowd that we had to do a second round of the performance on public demand.
Last year, Shakuntala reportedly received a great response from the Indian press with The Delhi Mail reviewing the play under the headline, “Shakuntala comes home via Pakistan.”
However, this time around with expectations soaring high, the genre of the play chosen falls under a different category altogether with the directorial aesthetics of Zia Mohyeddin.
Islam, who is also the administrator of Napa Repertory Theater company commented on this years play selection, “First of all this is an original play by Pakistan so technically it is our own play, secondly, it deals with the clash that occurs between the different cultural lineages that migrants from different regions (largely from India) brought with them to Pakistan. So there will be much to relate to for the audience.”
“The NSD is a great platform, from the Germans to the Japanese — all kinds of theatre is performed at this platform — and for Pakistanis to be performing on the same stage and getting appreciation from a more much mature audience is an achievement in itself,” says Ali Rizvi. Rizvi has been to India before with Tehrik e Niswan and is a staunch believer that theatrical education has not gone in vain but in fact, platforms such as the NSD give recognition to the arts.
The cast of the play includes Aiman Tariq, veteran television actor Ayesha Khan, Akbar Islam, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Ali Shiekh, Ali Rizvi, Owais Mangalwala and Rauf Afridi accompanied by crew and senior faculty member Rahat Kazmi.
The 13th Bharat Mohatsav began on January 7 and will end on the 22nd of January, Khwabon Kay Musafir will be performed on January 22 at the LTG Auditorium in New Delhi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2011.