Kaifi Aur Main play review

Generally speaking I am very open to and tolerant of the variety of spectacles that pass off as theatre but I am afraid that IPTA Mumbai’s production of KAIFI AUR MAIN, which premiered at its Jan Natyotsav 06’, is pushing the envelope. Being labeled as a ‘theatrical presentation’ is perhaps its best bet but it’s surely not one that I would buy.

The only semblance that the event or alternatively the program or more suitably the mehfil (it worked marvellously enough on that level) has with theatre is seasoned actor Shabana Azmi’s effort to breathe life into her mother, Shaukat Azmi’s character. But unfortunately that effort was undermined by her husband Javed Akhtar who plays Kaifi Azmi and by Jaswinder Singh whose voice, melodious as it may be, operates in an altogether self-centred space of its own.

For instance it was evident on more than one occasion that Singh was trying to conceal his irritation from the musicians who faltered in their notes while trying to match his singing. As for Javed Akhtar, we would all do well to remember the fine poet he is rather than the fumbling, unconvincing actor he has tried to be. No he doesn’t even try actually; he is who he is- Javed Akhtar, a sensitive lyricist whose audience loves him. The sum effect of it all was that each and everyone in the show, including the five or six musicians appeared as discrete from each other as they could be.

Moreover most of the songs however aligned in context to the readings of Shabana Azmi’s Shaukat and Javed Akhtar’s Kaifi were they seemed to be selected on the basis that was bound to trigger the familiar wah wah responses. In fact the presentation as a whole came across as a select fare of the choicest of writings by the great Kaifi Azmi, a truly romantic and progressive spirit. This fare was further supported by excerpts (in the form of letters and writings) from Shaukat Azmi’s memoir of her husband. So while the whole thing was enjoyable in an anecdotal and musical fashion, its inherent complacency left no room for argument or conflict of any sort.

The greater part of the reading was taken up by the intrigues of Shaukat and Kaifi Azmi’s romance. Thankfully enough Kaifi Azmi’s communist leanings and ideology were weaved in well enough. His resonating poetry in this regard was further highlighted through the spunky, musical renditions by a talented group of young singers. But such moments were few and far between. The presentation largely remained on a safe and neutral ground, guaranteeing the outflow of the wah-wah’s that never ceased through almost its entire duration.

Its all too obvious stance made it also a slightly embarrassing affair that resembled an overdone felicitation where one invariably has all the right things to say about the person being felicitated. A superb portrait sketch of a brooding Kaifi Azmi in the background had more drama than the entire act put together.

(The writer is editor, www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com, a theatre critic and an academic keenly interested in theatre and performance studies).