Those who could not hear the music

‘Jinnay Lahore Nahin Vekhya’ asks important questions from an audience that was least bothered

KARACHI: There is a certain poetic quality about Jinnay Lahore Nahin Vekhya. Written by Asghar Wajahat and directed by renowned theatre directors Sheema Kermani and Anwer Jafri, the play is set in post-partition Lahore, where immigrants struggle to settle down after leaving their lives behind. One such Muslim immigrant family is allotted a haveli in Lahore, only to find that the previous owner’s Hindu mother is still living in the house.

The play begins with a live recitation of Nasir Kazmi’s poetry as immigrants move from India to Pakistan, carrying lanterns in the dark night. The scene has a hypnotic quality which engages the audience completely from the first sight. The live singing, also used as a transition between scenes, adds another dimension to the play.

The directors pull off the play with a very minimalistic approach in terms of sets: a tree, a make-shift kitchen setup when in front of Ravi River, a block and a traditional bench to show the mansion’s patio. In some instances, it reminds one of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, where two men wait for a friend under a tree. One can also see parallels (though not that extreme) between the play’s visualisation and the imaginary sets of Danish film-maker Lars Von Trier’s Dogville, where a huge sound stage is marked by white lines to divide spaces.

When it comes to performances, the Hindu mother (Kermani) without a doubt delivers and makes the spectators care for her character — the old Hindu lady, who has no family left to look after her, endears the changed society with her loving and helpful nature. Mehmood Bhatti as Salim Mirza, is convincing as the head of the family, who wants to take charge of the situation without actually harming the old woman. On the contrary, his son Javed (Haaris Khan) is willing to go to any length to get rid of her and tries too hard but fails. Tanno (Ayesha Pervaiz), Mirza’s daughter appears unintentionally funny and contrived, with all of her actions and dialogues coming across as a parody of how a young girl should act.

Regardless of the faults, Jinnay Lahore Nahin Vekhya succeeds in making one question the prejudices that are sadly still prevalent even after almost 70 years since partition. Jafri and Kermani’s direction still maintains its grace and makes people uncomfortable for showing the bitter truth.

One factor that negatively affected the performances throughout the Karachi Theater Festival is the disrespectful attitude of the audience. Despite repeated announcements to switch off phones, one would hear ringtones echoing throughout the hall and people speaking as loudly as they would in their lounges. Not only that, but the audience needs to learn how to time their applause and cheers so that it does not affect the performance. If one hears a couple of claps every 30 seconds, it gets the entire audience out of the zone that the actors on stage have worked hard to create. While Arts Council has given its all to entertain people with the festival, the audience has disrespected the artists who do their best to entertain and inform them. Perhaps it will take some time for theatre-going culture in Karachi to evolve.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2016.

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