PNCA drama festival: ‘I strayed yonder, while happiness nestled quietly under my wing…’

‘Khushi’ reminded the forgotten blessings taken for granted in search of an illusory world.

ISLAMABAD:

A man is bound to be groggy and bad tempered when his sweet slumber is disrupted by his wife’s call to reality, especially when the reality spells out broken electricity connections, an honest government officers’ pay, and a rich cousin to envy abroad. The protagonist of the play gets the rude awakening on a Sunday (‘Sone day’ as he likes to call it) by his kind natured wife, Kunjaa, who desperately tries to make him apprehend happiness in between shades of rich and poor.

Written by Imtiaz Ali Taz and directed by Saeed Anwar, Khushi was presented by the Entertainers. The satirical comedy attempted to expose the rudiments of happiness in all its forms. It made a comparison of what it really means to be happy and how it is interpreted by the common man.

Although the narrative held no surprises, the good acting, witty punch lines that had the audience in peals of laughter, and the smooth confluence of scenes pulled off a good performance over all with a few lapses.

The renowned stage artist Imtiaz Ali Kashif (Khalil) was a convincing image of the bitter, irritable man who has many complaints from life. The author made use of symbolism such as ‘sofa set’ and the ‘tall lamp that stands proud’ in his superior’s house to depict the material desires nursing in Khalil’s heart. His yearning for objects in display windows of shops reverberated shallowness of an empty wish well.

The author cleverly used the character of Kunjaa’s premature brother, played by Saeed Anwar, who outcries to retain his childish self. He cynically points out his refusal to become entangled in the web of corruption and lies in the so-called pursuit of happiness. Both actors did justice to their roles.

The most liked performance perhaps was of the Pathan neighbour and friend, played by Yar Muhammad Khan, who playfully reprimands Khalil for his ungratefulness. The contrast in their personalities is outlined when Khan gently tries to convey to his friend that ‘dreams are those which we have when asleep, not those that deprive us of it’.

The director tries to portray subtle undertones of a loving, caring household through the routine jabbering of the different characters, to which Khalil is oblivious. He is only overjoyed upon hearing of his rich cousin Ahmed’s arrival from England.  Suddenly his dreams sprout wings as he starts weaving plans of borrowing the cash to fulfill his age old dream of starting a business.

However, all is lost when Ahmad remorsefully informs his poor relatives that he had gambled away all his life’s saving and his rich wife has also left him. The crestfallen Khalil is agog, when the man he had envied all his life considers him to have real happiness in the form of a loving life partner by his side. Ahmad is generously taken in by Khalil who finally comes to peace with his situation in life, and realizes there is more to happiness than material objects.

Even though the central theme was hackneyed, the comic script and good direction managed to pull off a serious message with nuances that had the audience in fits of laughter. Also, the play started to drag in the second half and had quite a predictable ending.

One spectator said, “The acting was very good though the ending was a bit boring; a set change would have been a better option in the latter half of the play.”

This was the 8th play in the 10-day drama festival by Pakistan National Council of the Arts. The festival’s popularity was evident as the hall was filled up in a matter of minutes and quite a few were regular visitors. People seemed to be enjoying the productions.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2011.