Leap of faith: Lahore theatre circuit switches to devotional activities

Ramazan-related activities and religious lectures being held at performance venues

LAHORE: With the Holy month of Ramazan upon us, several stage artists have taken a back seat and stopped working in theatre. Meanwhile, a number of auditoriums have also shut down temporarily.

Lahore’s famous Al-Falah Theatre, Naz Theatre and Alhamra Hall have also closed for business, with only Ramazan-related activities and religious lectures being held at these performance venues.

According to details, stage actors and dancers have stopped performing in plays, primarily because their sole focus is on fasting and worship.

PHOTO: FILE

Renowned starlets including Sitara Baig, Khushboo, Nida Chaudhary, Feroza Khan, Saima khan, Honey Shahzadi, Aafreen Pari, Mahak Noor among others halted work as soon as the Ramazan moon was sighted. Actors Iftikhar Thakar, Amanat Chan, Nasir Chiniyoti and Naseem Vicky will not participate in any production until Eidul Fitr.

The recent ban on Bollywood films in Pakistan caused a major setback for our cinema industry. Taking advantage of this, theatre houses opened to large crowds and became active places for public entertainment. Hence, the news comes as a major disappointment for frequent theatregoers.

While theatres have been momentarily shut down for entertainment, owners will continue to focus on renovation and the preparation for Eid shows.



“New plays will be performed at almost all the theatres during Eid. Only a few halls are conducting shows in Ramazan but many people are not appreciating this and I think in the next week, they’ll shut down too,” said senior stage artists Qaiser Shahzad.

The Punjab government has issued a revised timetable, permitting one stage show per day if necessary, between 6pm and 9pm. Lahore Arts Council Executive Director, Ather Ali Khan has chaired a meeting this week to go over the religious and spiritual programmes that will be held over the course of Ramazan.

“All resources should be utilised to make Ramazan programmes successful,” he said. “Seminars on the topics of the greatness of Ramazan, Mehfil-e-Sama, Mehfil-e- Naat, calligraphy exhibitions and religious workshops will take place too.”



Last week, the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution calling for a ban on showbiz celebrities from hosting and attending Ramazan transmissions. Muavia Azam Tariq, the lawmaker of Pakistan Rahe Haq Party, had moved the resolution which was passed unanimously by both treasury and opposition benches.

The resolution regretted that “in the race for media ratings, Ramazan transmissions are hosted by the people who know nothing about Islam”.

Tariq contended that Ramazan TV shows should only be hosted by Ulemas [scholars] who have spent their entire life in teaching and learning the religion instead of people associated with showbiz.

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