Old Ajoka actors start afresh

New troupe Azad Group sparks creativity and controversy in Lahore.

LAHORE:

Inside a small, dingy dance studio, behind Lahore’s Metropole cinema, a group of actors rehearse lines for the Punjabi play “Dewana Pukaray Khair Hoshyar”. This newly-founded theatre troupe, called the Azad Group is an offshoot of a troupe which was orignally a part of the Ajoka Theatre group. These troupe members have long been associated with the Pakistani theatre industry.

“When we started theatre, we were not well-paid but we knew we were working for a good cause,” claims Sarfraz Ansari who spent 22 years with Ajoka but resigned after Ajoka abruptly fired several theatre producers and cast members. Ansari who was the lead in plays such as “Bullah”, “Dara” and “Bala King” is now preparing the new troupe to come in the forefront.”We have world-class actors, technicians and our goal is to provide entertaining theatre. We could never think of doing anything other than theatre,” says Ansari.

The formation of the new troupe was due to 15 members being terminated from Ajoka’s original production set. Nadeem Abbas, who had worked at Ajoka as a choreographer and costume designer since 2000, says the divergence between Ajoka management and the fired employees had occurred due to the management’s overstepping of professional boundaries.

Abbas explained that he approached the upper management regarding a possible salary raise following an Ajoka performance of “Mera Rang Day Basanti Chola.” However, after a tour of India, eight people were let go off and that was the point when veteran actors such as Ansari decided to resign.

“For us it was more about the respect that the employees were not receiving from the management. We had always looked at Ajoka as a very important theatre group where we always wanted to continue working,” says Abbas.

At the same time, Ansari views this venture as a new beginning. The goal of Azad Theatre is to provide audiences with pure theatre which would include both modern and traditional themes. To do this, the troupe plans to perform plays by playwrights such as Agha Hashir, Major Ishaq as well as a stream of upcoming playwrights.

Furthermore, Ansari explains that the concept of their group was to provide great entertainment to audiences in every style of theatre. He emphasised that the plays would not be restricted to social issues but they would choose and perform subjects that inspired audiences like the current Punjabi play “Dewana Pukaray Khair Hoshyar” expected to be performed on December 13 2011 at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) theatre festival. The play is a suspense-comedy which tells the tale of a tenant deemed crazy by most people in his area. However, each person who encounters this tenant goes through a comedic series of events making them seem crazy as well. Following this show, the troupe plans to start working on “Rostam Aur Sohrab” which they plan to premiere in February 2012.

Discussing some of the issues facing the troupe, Ansari stated, “Although we are facing several financial constraints, theatre performers who are truly passionate about acting and theatre are willing to live off on a small amount of money. However, some sort of support still needs to be given.”

While Ajoka Theatre’s producer Madeeha Gauhar was unwilling to comment on the details of the departure, she called the situation a “routine process.” She adds that since this incident, the rest of the Ajoka troupe has continued to tour and perform and they are completely satisfied with the talented, new actors as well as the old ones still with the troupe.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2011.