Nadira Babbar’s play mesmerises audience

Tribune News Service

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Jalandhar, October 6

Students of Lovely Professional University witnessed mesmerising theatrics from veteran Nadira Zaheer Babbar’s popular play ‘Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan’ that was enacted at its auditorium. The play entertained and awakened students through deep humour, pathos, satires and social concerns alike.

Actor, playwright and director Nadira’s production was enacted by artistes from her Mumbai-based theatre group ‘Ekjute’.

LPU students from the School of Performing Arts learnt important theatric skills from the performance. Along with National School of Drama graduate Nadira, other famous performers from Mumbai included Sangam Shukla, who acted as Devi Da; Mithilesh Maihar (Tikam); Manav Pande (Rajan); Rajiv Singh (Laxmi); Devesh (Arif Ali); Neha Shaikh (Mrs Nancy); Anupama Negi (Raila); Gunjan (Bela) and Hanif Patni.

Living their characters, these actors acted in a spontaneous manner and by being in a gripping connection with the LPU audience. Structurally, the play focusses on various issues that struggllers have to face in Mumbai to find a place in the Bollywood film industry.

Sangeet Natak Akademi award winner, Nadira said: “With my theatre group, I try to entertain as socially relevant plays can evoke tremendous response from the audience. Over the years, we have been successful in building impressive audience in top cities of the country and at the LPU.”

Appreciating student-audience she said: “I have all praise for the young audience which proved to be ‘fit and large ’. I am confident that this play will surely impress, inspire and encourage young students to be on the positive lines during their days of struggle. Having borrowed its title from a song of the yesteryears’ Bollywood film “CID”, screened on actor Johny Walker, the play projects some aspects of life of struggling artistes, who come to Mumbai to earn name and fame in the dream world of Bollywood. They are shown living in a small room which is jam-packed and dirty. Nadira’s characters quarrel a lot at trivial issues and cheat, steal and live in miserable conditions. However, they do not mouth any philosophical comments on life. The strugglers are simple and entangled in their own small world hoping to get a break some day. Despite of their defeats, privations and isolation from their family, they retain their human essence. In their heart of hearts they are essentially good and compassionate beings. The roles of Dabbewalla, doctor, lady-love depicts different threads of the story. Thanking all great artistes of the ‘Ekjute’ theatre group, LPU Pro-Chancellor Rashmi Mittal said: “Theatre veteran Nadira and her team have enabled students to watch a play which is embedded with humane tones and underlying message. In fact, this age-old art form is helpful to youth as it provides face-to-face easy messages to quickly understand.”