NITHALLEY KI DIARY by college students from Chandigarh. It is one of the best productions I have ever seen as it was thoroughly entertaining; yet educative and thought provoking. The best part of the production was that it was staged by amateur actors, who were much better than us -- the so called professional ones. And the most interesting part of the production was its set design, not because it was staged on a bare stage, but because introduction of any sets whatsoever in the play would have hampered the production. In all, it was a real ''sasta and tikau'' product(ion).
Your favourite adda to see a play
Delhi University (during their College Festivals).
Your favourite playwright
Yours truly (At the risk of being called immodest as I hardly read plays)
Your favourite play-character
''Hanuman'' and ''Sugriv'' from the play NITHALLEY KI DIARY.
A play you would like to see filmed. Why?
GHALIB KE KHAT. One, because the play has Ghalib's wife (Umrao Begum) as the ''Hero'' , a character whom the 'Greats' with their films / TV Series / Documentaries on and about Ghalib, have hardly done justice to. And two, it introduces (for the first time) Ghalib's friends and disciples who more or less unknown despite being people of great calibre. Otherwise why would have the great Ghalib corresponded with them?
A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? Why?
''Dara Shikoh'', an Urdu novel by Qazi Abdus Sattar. It is a beautifully written and is an authentic piece of history.
The most hilarious play you have seen
GHALIB IN NEW DELHI (Before I started playing the protagonist).
A play, which is over-hyped
GHALIB IN NEW DELHI (After I started playing the protagonist).
An important play (but ignored)
14 / 15 August 1947 (also titled as GHAZANFAR HUSSAIN).
A play character you would like to ''dialogue'' with
With the 120 year old Shri Krishna on his death bead, from a play titled KRISHNA, written by Jaihind Kumar.
A passage from an important play that you can recite
A passage from the play "14 / 15 August 1947'' where a 95 year old man, Ghazanfar Hussain, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, is seen writing an imaginary letter to his 90 year old brother In law -- Mushtaq -- who migrated to Pakistan in 1947:
''Bhai Sau ki seedhi ek, ab jab tum retire aur boodhe ho hi chuke ho to marne ke liye Basti wapas aao aur watan ki mitti pao ...... arrey kahin tum darte to nahin yehan jo Hindu-Muslim fasadaat hote rahte hain???? nahin Bhai ... yehaan to '47 mein bhi fasadaat nahin hue, Babri Masjid girne par bhi nahin hue, jab ke Ayodhya yehaan se sirf 40 meel door hai .... Bhai tumhare Karachi aur Lahore ke muqaable Basti bade aman –o- amaan ki jagah hai ....
Haan! ho sakta hai BJP wale tumhare wapas aane par kuch chun chera karein .... par unhein mana liya jaaye ga ... apne Shiv Narain BJP ke hi to MP hain .... kya hua jo pahle Samaajwadi party mein thae aur us se pahle Congress mein thae, yeh to in logon mein chalta hi rahta hai..... aaj bhi mohalle mein nikal aate hain to bina pair chue wapas nahin jaate .... aur agar shiv Narain se kuch nahin ban saka to Bajpayee ko phone kar dunga ... Manoj Bajpayee???? Yeh kaun hai????? aur kahun ga yeh achchi baat nahin ke sirf America aur England mein rahne wale Hindostaniyon ko hi NRI kah-te ho, Pakistan mein rahne wale Hindostani bhi to NRI hain ....
Ek kaam aur ho sakta hai tumhaara aur Advani Sahib ka exchange ... tum Non Resident Hindostani ho aur woh Non Resident Pakistani hain ... dono apni apni aakhri umron mein apne apane watan ke ho lein, is se achchi baat aur kya ho sakti hai
A classical play that you should have read
All the plays written by Shakespeare.
A play that changed your perception about the theatre
NITHALLEY KI DIARY
How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene?
Let me answer this question with some clarity and confidence after my troupe's festival of plays on Ghalib is over.
Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting?
An interesting book / articles on theatre? How can one, busy all the time with clerical work pertaining to his productions, find time for this?
If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous?
Yes it is Pierrot's Troupe's play – BADE BHAI SAHAB, based on Munshi Premchand's celebrated short story by same title. The play was to be performed in Hindi. One day, as part of the workshop, we decided to rehearse the play in English impromptu. Given the troupe members' great lack of command over English what came out was quite hilarious. We have finally ended up doing more than 120 shows of the play now called BIG B , India's first ever IND-lish comedy.
Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why?
I am so sorry. I have not seen one.
Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer
Tom Alter as director and actor; Manisha Jaitely for music and Ajay Sharma for set designing.
A significant Indian production that you may have witnessed
BEGUM JAAN by Nadira saheba.
Life in the theatre without the humble batata-wada or the cutting chai... or can you recall the best gastronomic experience you've had in the precincts of the theatre to date?
Here in Delhi, we have 'mathri' instead of 'bataata wada' and 'un cut chai'' . As regards the best of gastronomic experiences in theatre, well! In my early days in theatre, my theatre Guru, Ashok Purang sahib, who used to earn as much as 40 thousand rupees a month in the early 90s, used to treat me with sumptuous lunches and dinners as part of his exercise to groom me as a playwright. It is indeed a very good exercise but not a recommended one.
*Sayeed Alam heads his theatre company Pierrot's Troupe in Delhi. The group is staging its three plays on Ghalib from Friday, November 15 to Sunday, November 17 2013 in Mumbai).
List Your Play
Sayeed Alam
Which is the last best play you saw and why?
