‘Salim Sherwani Ki Shaadi’ entertains Karachiites
A twisted plot, melodramatic scenes, one pun after another, ripples of laughter from the audience — this was what defined director of Wormhole Productions team, Hammad Zubairi’s, production at the Pakistan American Cultural Centre (PACC) on Thursday evening.
“Salim Sherwani Ki Shaadi”, was originally a French play and was adapted in Urdu by Indian playwright Zahir Anwar, who is considered to be a pioneer in the field of intellectual Urdu drama. While one could find nothing lacking in the play’s script and well-crafted dialogue, the actors performances were found to be lacking as they were not forthcoming and were unable to do justice to their lines.
The play tells that tale of Salim Sherwani (Faraz Butt) who plans to marry the girl of his dreams, Virgine (Ayesha Waheed), but because of the confused registrar (Salman Qaiser) ends up marrying her mother, Madame played by Marya Hussain. Meanwhile, Virgine, is in love with the young, dashing Patrice, performed by Haris Sheikh. Adding to the disorder is Jambert, Madame’s husband who was thought to have passed away two years ago, but makes a surprise entrance. What follows is utter mayhem which, as with most plays, resolves itself in the end.
Salman Qaiser did a good job as the confused Bannerjee, whereas Waheed came across as shy and unfocused. Madame enacted by Marya Hussain was good but sometimes was overhwelmingly dramatic. Similarly our tragic hero Faraz Butt, as Salim Sherwani, overreacted in any given situation. Without doubt, the best actor of the night was Haris Sheikh, who delivered his lines perfectly and brought life to his role.
Credit must be given to set designer Umer Dangra whose theme of ‘less is more’ set off the stage perfectly. While the lighting could have been better, the sound system, managed by Sabih Zubairi, was good and added to the performances. Costumes done by Kiran Jangda and the make-up, done by Anzala Salim and Mairah Hashmi, were also commendable.
The play runs September 19 at the PACC.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2011.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1732865216-0/Express-Tribune-(3)1732865216-0-270x192.webp "savera nadeem s mother passes away")
i think the role required Waheed to be confused and shy at the same time. this as an effort must be commended.
also roles like RANI and the best of the lot Hammad zubairis as chacha should be applauded in the play.