Play inspired by Bhagat Singh's life staged at Napa

After a long hiatus due to Covid-19 regulations, the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) opened its door to theatre enthusiasts again. On Wednesday evening, Behrupia, a project by third-year students at the academy, presented a period drama titled Anarkali.

Brilliantly penned by a young writer Ahmed Umar Ayyaz, the politically charged performance was both evocative and moving. Based on true events, Anarkali followed a night spent in terror by two college students after Bhagat Singh, remembered for his sacrifice for freedom, murdered a British police officer in broad daylight. Focused on hostelites Iftikhar Alam and Jatinder Singh from Government College, Lahore, the play remarked on the political presence of students during the era of upheaval and resolution.

Following multiple binaries of contrasting mindsets, the story observed the two kinds of people desiring freedom while residing in colonial India; one who believes in a democratic change while the other in a bloodthirsty revolution. Alam, a political science student finds out in a rather heated argument why his roommate Singh, a science student, believes so strongly in revenge against the white soldiers. Singh yearns for revenge after an innocent fight for freedom cost him his father’s life in the 1919 Jalianwalla massacre.

Directed by Rayyan Khan and Abdul Rehman Rana (who also essayed the lead roles of Alam and Singh respectively), the play successfully explored the tension in the air while having heavy political conversations at the sight of any remorseful action for freedom. A memorable scene from the period drama was when Singh opened up to his roommate about his father’s truth. Often when a family goes through a traumatic event, the trauma transfers to other generations and a new kind of irrational behaviour take over to compensate for the internalised numbness, and all this was beautifully conveyed through the scene.

Singh’s revelation was hauntingly quiet. He chuckled at his fate with his voice breaking at the graphic memory spiking through his head.

However, as soon as the audience was caught in a dispute between revolution and lawful peace, the play ended with a loud bang and gunshots narrating the events that followed Bhagat Singh’s freedom fight. The play concluded with a voice-over telling the bone-chilling incident of public hanging of Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. 

While the writing was riveting throughout, the end was disappointing. It felt abrupt and rushed, almost like a significant part of the plot was skipped to spoil the ending. The expressions were engaging but the fast pace of the play made it difficult for the audience to keep up at times. In some instances, the enunciation was unclear as well. 

Overall, the play was a rewarding experience nevertheless. Coming from an independent student-run production, it was powerfully executed despite its shortcomings. 

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