Rediscovering the ‘Khoya Hua Admi’

Khalid Ahmed directorial features Kamal Ahmed Rizvi’s trademark one-liners, comic dialogues

KARACHI: There are a great many similarities in the Karachi of today and that of the 80s. While problems such as the water crisis, high rates of unemployment and crime have been a source of concern for Karachiites of all eras – Khalid Ahmad’s latest play, Khoya Hua Admi, shows the emotional and psychological struggles of people living in the bustling metropolis.

Based on a script written by legendary playwright Kamal Ahmed Rizvi, Khoya Hua Admi follows the middle-aged couple of Danish (Fawad Khan) and Bano (Aimen Tariq) who have their lives turned upside down as they are struck by one tragedy after another.

Set in the lounge of their Clifton apartment, the play opens with sleep-deprived Danish growing increasingly concerned as he attempts to tell his wife the truth about him losing his job. The couple’s problems show no signs of diminishing when they are robbed of their belongings the very next day, following which Danish finally opens up to Bano about his dismissal.

Unhinged by this revelation, she professes to support him through the lean patch, even volunteering to take up a job as a secretary to make ends meet. With months passing and the situation deteriorating further, Danish starts becoming insecure and agitated, convinced that the society has conspired to bring him to this point.

Presented as a drama, the play contains Rizvi’s trademark one-liners and comic dialogues. Speaking about the difficulty of transitioning between comic and drama scenes, lead actor Khan said while the team could have approached the play as a pure drama, they chose to retain the elements of comedy within it. “We have performed the play using our own interpretation of the script,” he told The Express Tribune. “Scenes which would otherwise not have been funny such as the robbery, Danish losing his job and wrestling with his insecurities, were all made comical through the dialogues,” he said.

Although the entire cast has done an admirable job with the adaptation, the seasoned actor and National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) graduate truly stood out. With his task already cut out, given that he was performing a character otherwise made memorable by the late playwright, he reiterated how he did not try to imitate his predecessor’s performance. “Every actor tries to add their own originality to each role and obviously I tried to do the same. Consciously I did not try to copy Kamal sahab’s mannerisms or style of dialogue delivery, but then again, we were trying to emulate him with our performances,” Khan explained.

Given the complex nature of Danish’s character, it was likely for Tariq to have been overshadowed; however, she held her own with a remarkable performance.

Performed under the umbrella of NAPA Repertory Theatre (NRT), the tribute to the late actor-playwright marks Ahmad’s return to direction. The director spoke of his fondness with the script and decision to perform this play, noting in particular how Khoya Hua Admi was amongst the Rizvi’s most memorable works.

Also featuring Owais Mangalwala, Zarqa Naz, Asiya Alam and Shumaila Taj in supporting roles, Khoya Hua Admi will run till March 13.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2016.

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