On the occasion of IDEA's Prem Utsav- a drama festival celebrating the stories of Munshi Premchand, Mujeeb Khan, IDEA's leading man talks about his theatre group, and of his ongoing interest in the famous writer of modern Hindi-Urdu Literature of the early twentieth century.
Deepa Punjani
How did IDEA come into being? We were three friends, Habib Khan, Aaliyah Jabeen and myself who were interested in theatre. Not just Acting but also in the various things that together make a theatre experience. We started our amateur theatre group called Arts Creative Theatre (ACT) in 1983. Later, Habib Khan parted ways but myself and Aaliyah continued the show. We realised that we had to do something more mature, novel and unique, and overtime ACT became IDEA.
IDEA earlier stood for the Indian Drama and Entertainment Academy. It is now known as the Ideal Drama and Entertainment Academy. What brought about this change? When I went to get my group registered, I was informed that I could not use the word 'INDIAN'. But since people already recognised us as the IDEA group, I had to use another word begining with the alphabet 'I'
Your group largely specializes in what can be described as on the spot journalistic theatre, where everyday news or a particular headline finds immediate expression on the stage. Is this your group's USP? Do you feel that your group can reach a larger audience through this kind of theatre? Definitely. We want people to be aware of things happening around them and highlight them. I personally feel that all those connected with the Arts must feel that it is their moral responsibility to raise their voice against any injustice happening around them. Whenever you speak about anything concerning the public, you will always get their support .
IDEA has done over 250 shows of Premchand's stories, and your 'Prem Utsav' festival is also about his work. Why this particular fascination for one writer over such an extended period of time? There are many reasons, but the main reason is that we think it is very contemporary. Our society is gradually forgetting its roots and Munshi Premchand's stories reminds us of our culture, tradition, morales and language.
You have many young people as part of your group, which seems to be constantly changing as well as expanding. How do you manage to retain these young people? I conduct drama workshops and so have students of all age groups enrolling to my academy. The final goal of these students is to act in television and movies. So after they acquire training they move ahead to establish themselves in their profession but they do feel and tell their friends that the training recieved at our academy is better than most of the academies existing today.
How does IDEA operate as a theatre group? Does it receive any kind of institutional support? We manage our expenses by conducting workshops, and at times through donations from our well-wishers.
Beyond Premchand, what are your group's plans for the future? We have initiated another series, "NAMASHKAR MAIN RABINDRANATH TAGORE HOON" wherein we shall stage plays based on stories and poems of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. I wish to revive the great works of legends such as Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chugtai, Sharat Chandra and Kazi Mushtaq Ahmed.
How did IDEA come into being?
