Baba Jalinoos exposed

Napa play opens to packed house and garners praise for its fresh take on a longstanding societal issue

KARACHI:

Putting forth a grave issue with a dash of comedy makes it resonate more with people, especially of a city often marred by intolerance and despair. This is why Napa graduate and director Fawad Khan’s Baba Jalinoos could strike a chord with Karachiites, as its preview opened to a packed house and raving reviews, ahead of its first show on September 11.

As the name suggests, the play takes a dig at the religious hypocrisy prevailing in the society. Treading on dangerous ground, it does well in capturing attention with its fresh take on a longstanding issue. Although adapted from Moliere’s French play Tartuffe, Baba Jalinoos reflects upon our societal woes in a streamlined fashion. With a growing number of imposters blindfolding people with their false piety and urging them to cross bounds with the promise of heaven, the play seems to have surfaced in a timely way.



The play revolves around a family, where the father and grandmother follow the preaching of a man Baba Jalinoos. Spellbound by his show of piety and selflessness, the two shower the Baba with wealth, seeking his blessings in return. Their loyalty proves to be futile, with the play depicting the family’s eventual realisation regarding the ‘jaali baba’ in humorous scenes. The play is relatable in how it seems to be the story of every other household in Pakistan, where people prefer relying on a religious leader in the hopes of strengthening their connection with God.

Read: Baba Jalinoos to be unveiled on September 11

PHOTO: UMER SHEIKH

Baba Jalinoos garnered the audiences’ praises, with many overheard repeating the play’s dialogues after the show. Audience member Tahir Alam, 55, said, “I think the play is a mix of the old and the new. It showed an aged maulvi and depicted how love is perceived in this era,” he said. “There’s no harm in showing the reality of fake religious figures. We know what happens to our children in seminaries and this play reflected it well,” he added.

Asma, who has previously seen many Napa plays, noted that Baba Jalinoos was well-executed. “I liked the [characters’] acting very much. I haven’t seen plays by this team before and was fascinated by their performances,” she shared. “Azam [the protagonist played by Farhan Alam] did particularly well and Alveena [Azam’s second wife played by Mahvash Faruqi] acted confidently, despite the bold scenes, which I think would’ve been hard for any female actor to portray. I think the team did justice to the play and its theme.”

But a play that tugs at religious sentiments wouldn’t expectedly appeal to everyone. Anis Ahmed, 28, who has done his Masters in Arts from Karachi University, said, “The play was based on a controversial topic against religious figures and I wouldn’t recommend people to watch it. It was also dragging in a number of places.”



Saifi Hasan, an experienced actor present among the audience, said, “Several people thought the play crossed the line of decency generally accepted here, but it’s good to see people are finally doing that. It’s essential that we include what many would term as ‘dangerous stuff’ in our plays. I’ve personally seen scores of fake maulvis and could relate to it,” he noted.

On why he selected a controversial topic for his play, Fawad Khan said, “This is relevant to our society, in which some pseudo maulvis plunder and befool people. There’s no denying that there are many good religious individuals, who don’t feign piety and keep their religion to themselves. This play is not against them.” The show is scheduled to run every day at 8:00pm till September 20 at Napa.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2015.

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