Lalit Gupta
JAMMU, Jan 21: An artistic rendering of the life and works of Mirza Ghalib, the most famous Urdu ‘shayar’ who ever walked the Indian subcontinent, was staged by Natraj Natya Kunj’s Urdu play titled ‘Ghalib in Quarantine’, on the concluding day of the six-day Theatre Carnival, at Abhinav Theatre, here today.
Written by playwright Roheet Verma and directed by Abhishekh Bharti, the part-musical play emerged as an ode to poetic genius and a peep into his time and era. Narrative by a present-day character, who in order to pass time during the Pandemic lockdown discovers Ghalib through his letters and poetry and also enacts selective facets of the poet’s life.
As one of the signatures of Natraj Natya Kunj productions, today’s play design was marked by an eye-catching spectacle of the visual aspects of the production comprising costumes, props, make-up, lighting, and creative set design.
Exhibiting a commendable energy level, Balwinder Singh in multi-roles, was successful in portrayal of Mirza Ghalib’s agonies and ecstasies-woven through a collage of snippets from his life like the royal patronage, shenanigans with Ustad Zauq, love for drinks, his debts, temperamental discordance with his wife and her death.
Balwinder Singh’s recitation of Ghalib’s best-known couplets along with sonorous singing of his choicest gazals by the offstage group of singers offered a musical bonanza for the audience and also reiterated the all-time relevance of Ghalib’s poetry. The few mistakes in the spoken lines and Urdu couplets can be avoided in future performances by consulting a language expert.
Other members of the cast included Anu Thakur as Begum, Shobhana Sahrmaas Tavayaf, and Vishal Pandita as Fakir. The set of the play was artistically designed by Veerji Sumbli. Costumes by Anu Thakur, lights by Aditya Bharati, music design by Vishal Pandita, and Brij Mohan as music mentor. The background singers included Aayush Trakroo and Shobhna Kharma and rhythmist was Nitish Kumar. Music was composed, written, and directed by Roheet Verma.
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