Salim Arif and Aadyam's latest production is a staging of Gulzar's play that inspired the Hindi film classic Angoor...
July 14, 2016 4:40:34 PM IST MTG editorial
The fifth of five plays under Aadyam 2016 will open on 23rd and 24th July at the Jamshed Bhabha auditorium, NCPA. Salim Arif's CHAKKAR CHALAAYE GHANCHAKKAR is based on the play written by Gulzar in the 1960s that drew inspiration from William Shakespeare's THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. After a few productions in the 60s, Gulzar adapted the play for cinema and it went on to become the celluloid classic, Angoor.
This updated adaptation is set in a small town in northern India. The story of the play is about two pairs of identical twins separated at birth and how their lives go haywire when they meet in adulthood. Raj Tilak and his wife are on a trip with their twin sons, both of whom they call Ashok. Since they look the same, they should be called the same, is Mr Tilak's reasoning. As fate would have it, they adopt another set of twins, both of whom they call Bahadur. An unfortunate accident then divides the family, leaving both parents with one child out of each pair of twins.
Says director Salim Arif, ''It is always a huge challenge to measure up to a well-made film like Angoor depicting two sets of twins on stage. The great thing about that film was near perfect casting and a very good script. We draw strength from the fact that THE COMEDY OF ERRORS was originally written for stage. It gave us the confidence of presenting this story of mistaken identity supported by Gulzar Saab, who reworked the script for the stage retaining most of the dialogue from the film.''
Says artistic director
Aadyam Theatre, Divya Bhatia, ''How you tell a story, how you use words... storytelling... an art form that is ancient and thanks to some incredible storytellers, it has continued to be at the heart of all myth, all performance and all entertainment for hundreds of years. In his inimitable way, Gulzar saab is a master storyteller... particularly with his brevity of language, his lyricism and his gesture. Shakespeare is another master storyteller.
