Mughal Night

SONS OF BABUR
A serious satire
(Hindostani: Duration - 1:45 Hrs)

Script: Salman Khurshid
Adaptation: Ather Farouqui
Direction: Dr M Sayeed Alam

Featuring
Salman Khurshid’s popular and thought provoking ‘SONS OF BABUR’ (Hindostani & English) is the first ever play on the era and aura of the Mughols -- a “highly entertaining, informative and aestheticaccount of the ‘Worlds’ of Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb laid open to the audience from far off Rangoon by the last and deposed Mughol Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

The play is a re visit to Babur’s unexpected arrival in India and his unusual death; Humayun’s awkward exit from India and then from this world also; Akbar’s policy of cocktail peaceful co existence on personal as well as political fronts; Jahangir’s love for Mumtaz Mahal and Kashmir; Shah Jahan’smonumental love for his beloved wife; Aurangzeb’s love for the best of the both ‘worlds’ and BahadurShah’s Zafar’s desire to be remembered not as the ‘Last Mughol Emperor’, but the ‘First Emperor Democratic of India’.

Succinctly speaking, while watching this play, one cannot but be enamored by the benevolence of the Mughals, feel amazed at their ambition, and also admire their ability to unite diverse populations into an entity called ‘Hindustan’.

The play is written by noted legal luminary, politician-writer and former External Affairs Minister of India, Salman Khurshid. It has been adapted by Sahitya Akademi Award winner AtherFarouqui and directed by Dr M Sayeed Alam,known for his penchant for historic and humorous plays.

Last but not the least, the play is produced by Pierrot’s Troupe -- the purveyor of innumerable original, incisive and topical plays – from Ghalib In New Delhi to K L Saigal to Maulana Azad to Big B to Lal Qile Ka Aakhri Mushaera to A Private Affair to Sir Iqbal.

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Ghalib In New Delhi
(India’s Longest Running Comedy)
Script & Direction: Dr. M. SAYEED ALAM
Artistes: 10; Duration: 1.45 hrs: Suitable for 4 years and above

It is India’s longest running comedy. It has more than 400 shows to its credit. It is India’s Marathon play. No guesses. It is Pierrot’s Troupe’s Ghalib In New Delhi – hugely popular, highly acclaimed and widely travelled, launched way back in 1997.

This rip-roaring comedy has the great erstwhile Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib, revisiting his beloved ‘Dehli’, now ironically ‘Delhi’, in 2017 to witness and relish his posthumous fame.

The entire plot revolves around Ghalib striving against an omnipotent identity crisis, beginning with the occupants of his ‘Haveli’ mistaking him as Ghalib’s‘Jinn’. This forces him to stay with a young man, Jai Hind, from Bihar who is also a Delhi University student, in a servant quarter. His confidence is further shattered when Jai Hind and his landlady Mrs. Chaddharecognize his worth only through the voice of JagjitSingh, and the screen portrayal of Naseeruddin Shah. Persuaded by the duo and in desperate need of recognition, Ghalib decides to ‘sell’ himself. The consequent press conference turns out to be a damp squib with the journalists being more interested in post-conference snacks and juicy headlines. Ghalib then opts for an advertising agency to perpetuate his presence in the minds of the people. What is the fate of Ghalib? Does his rebirth spell further disaster? Is Delhi a mere travesty of his hopes and aspirations? The answer lies in watching Ghalib in New Delhi, a laugh riot posing some serious questions about the stagnating codes.