At the screening of his new series, Yaar Julahay, Sarmad Khoosat tells Christy Varghese that his team has interpreted Dastangoi in a contemporary way for the dramatic readings
The storytelling tradition, Dastangoi, comes from two Persian words Dastan, meaning ‘story’, and goi, meaning ‘to tell’. Traditional bards, called dastango in Persian, acted out tales in parts of the Arab world, Persia and India.
Yaar Julahay, a new offering by Zee Theatre brings to life the stories of progressive Urdu and Hindi writers like Gulzar, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Munshi Premchand, Amrita Pritam, Qurratulain Haider, Balwant Singh, Asad Muhammad Khan, Ghulam Abbas, Rajinder Singh Bedi and Intezar Hussain through dramatic readings. The name of the series is inspired by a Gulzar poem and pays a tribute to writers who craft stories with the deftness of master weavers.
Pakistani actor, Mahira Khan featured in the opening episode of the 12-part series, reading Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi’s classic story, Guriya. Some names who will be featured in the series are Sarmad Khoosat, Sarwat Gilani, Nimra Bucha, Fawad Khan, Sania Saeed, Irfan Khoosat, Yasra Rizvi, Samiya Mumtaz, and Faisal Qureshi.
Humsafar maker Sarmad, who has directed Yaar Julahay with his sister Kanwal Khoosat also appears in the second episode with a rendition of Qurratulain Haider’s Nazara Hai Darmiyan, talks to us during a break as he recovers from COVID-19.
While a post pandemic world has encouraged the growth of audio-visual media through the internet, Dastangoi is an intimate and somewhat personal art form. With it being “interpreted in a contemporary way” for Yaar Julahay, how was the essence of Dastangoi retained during the series?
As far as retaining the essence of Dastangoi in this audio-visual medium which is not theatre, is concerned, I think, we started right at the beginning with getting the basic expression right. The way it is made, makes it theatrical for the actors because for them the technique is very similar to a live performance. So it’s not shot in broken segments and has that flow in a performance which is essential for theatre. It has that sort of an uninterrupted kind of delivery which is a very important aspect of theatre and we retained it through rehearsals and the performance exercises.
Clearly, we had to shoot the stories for the camera but the basic discipline which has kind of become redundant for TV and screen, was retained. Also I feel, people are so overstimulated by visuals and imagery that the essence of a story gets lost. Stories have to be heard in a pure, direct way, I feel. Storytelling essentially comes wrapped in the process of listening, especially in Dastangoi where the spoken word is the primary force.
What we have done in Yaar Julahay is to open a new avenue for the audience which may not have discovered the magic of Dastangoi. So even if the stories are recorded, the audience ‘listen’ to them as opposed to say, watching film or TV shows that offer so much visual stimulation. We do have sets and props but there is only one actor and the atmosphere is not flashy. What remains in the end is the story that has been told without any distractions or interventions in a consistently minimal environment.
Your sister and you are known to approach a project with a certain artistic sensitivity and deep respect for the material you are working with. For a project as unique as this on what premise were the storytellers chosen, apart from their mainstream appeal?
With artists, what really matters is how much time you can spend with them on the journey to collectively execute a certain idea with integrity and purity. We are lucky to be acquainted with a lot of celebrated, seasoned and experienced actors who we know are on the same wavelength as us. These are people we have worked with and who are known for their command on the craft regardless of their mainstream appeal. For some, this format was new because they do not come from the background of theatre but they were note-perfect after spending enough time in the preproduction phase and rehearsals. I think we have a very interesting blend of performers. Also what made things easier was that the narration style was not didactic and did not need to be projected towards a live audience. Everyone wore microphones and though the format was unfamiliar for many, every single actor brought something personal, unique and special to their narration.
Your biopic on Manto, which achieved critical acclaim back in 2015, is said to have piqued the interest of the masses towards the life and works of one of the finest Urdu writers of the 20th century. Fast forward to 2021, Yaar Julahay also features a story by Manto. What would you put down your fascination with Manto to?
I think my fascination or almost obsession with Manto is no secret anymore and I don’t think about it too actively. It’s almost like ‘ishq’ and it is here to stay and nothing can change it. I also think Urdu literature, of the subcontinent in particular, cannot be complete without his works. His work is like a pillar that other literary movements and writers lean against and derive inspiration from. The flavour of his writing is very unique and there’s no one like him. Writers like Manto, Rajinder Singh Bedi, and Qurratulain Hyder give us a very interesting insight in terms of our history and their works are not about nationality or geography but all of us, all sorts of people, communities and characters who have inhabited this region. So Manto of course was not to be missed. The journey of curating other stories was also an interesting process of discovery and rediscovery. I re-read Bedi and was floored and with Amrita Pritam, I had mostly read her Punjabi poetry and went on to discover her short stories. And then I explored the works of contemporary writers like Asad Muhammad Khan sahab and many more. But Manto for me is like this door which takes me to all these other incredible treasures. I started reading him at a very young age and for me he was my introduction to serious literature.
Undoubtedly, choice works of some of the most prolific Urdu and Hindi writers were handpicked for this project. But which one of them do you hold most dear, putting Manto and Qurratulain Haider’s Nazara Hai Darmiyan aside?
As they say in Hindi and Urdu, meri kya aukaat. Who am I to choose from such great legends or create a hierarchy of preferences? Each one has something so unique and extraordinary to offer. But if I were to choose anyone apart from Manto and Qurratulain Haider, it would be Asad Muhammad Khan for his story ‘Kokon’. His work belies the perception that Urdu fiction and literature have not grown beyond a certain decade post the Partition. Writers like Asad Muhammad Khan are still alive and not only experimenting with their craft and genres but creating incredible literary milestones. Their work is so easily relatable and for the lack of a better word, so modern and postmodern. Their work generates hope because it is evolutionary and shows that more diverse experiments in Urdu literature can still unfold . So I would choose, Kokon for its content, storytelling, style and particularly for its genre which, in my limited knowledge, is not explored often enough.
How relevant are the stories showcased in Yaar Julahay in the present day context?
As far as the relevance is concerned, I think, one needs to contextualise what kind of relevance are we talking about. In any case, relevance is an essential quality of great literature and every memorable story stands the test of time. These stories have stayed with us for decades and some have been told and retold for over a century now. They do speak of different generations and connect with different people differently but at their core, there is always a universal human emotion. Such narrations of real life and even fictional works come from sensitive, universally resonant observations. When I compare my 14 years of compulsory education of history, which is mandatory in Pakistan, to even just a bunch of short stories written by Manto, I think the latter inculcated much more empathy and understanding of historical events in me. The experience of reading these writers is richer than what you can find in many history books put together. Literature and art have that power of conveying meaning and substance in a way that is timeless and stays with you forever.
Do you foresee a scope for such collaborations which transcends the Indo-Pak borders in the future?
I don’t know if I foresee a scope. I wish there was one. I wish there were more collaborations. I wish the exchange the two nations started a few years ago, had continued. It’s almost tragic that art which aims to transcend borders and boundaries and is essentially about connecting and bonding people, is subjected to such harshness and unfairness. I hope there are opportunities for artists and creative people on both sides of the border, to connect and work together.
(Yaar Julahay will be screened on DishTV D2H Rangmanch Active throughout this week.)
