With their arms stretched out, the dancers resembled sculptures in different dance poses with smoke billowing about. The stage was showered in white and red lights while Karma, a folk dance of Chhattisgarh, was performed in all its glory.
Melodious music notes floated in the background with the shadows undulating to the rhythm of the music and different acts in the play kept us hooked during its entire course. We were in the midst of witnessing a winning story and a splendid direction which travelled from the stage to our hearts at IHC where the musical play Paighamber, written and directed by Vikas Dwivedi was presented The play which is inspired from Khalil Gibran’s famous work, The Prophet saw renowned actors like Tom Alter, Amit Behl and Harsh Mayar in their full form, lending their character and experience to it. “The idea for making a play from The Prophet had been in my mind for a long time. It was in 2012, while I was struggling in the streets of Mumbai when I was suggested to read this masterpiece, and it has stuck with me ever since,” confided Dwivedi. The script revolves around the issues of love, marriage, emotions, religion, knowledge, jealousy, sorrow, pain, pleasure, friendship, beauty and death. It also incorporated the teachings of Gibran dexterously in its story.
Dwivedi further told us, “My English was not really good when I first started reading The Prophet, so I sought to find a Hindi translation of it. That is when I came across Paighamber, The Prophet’s Hindi version and that is where this play has got its name. This play is like a tribute to it.” The amount of hard work that had been put into this musical was clearly visible, from the elaborate stage set up, the deft use of smoke machines, the exquisite folk music to the well thought-out characters. “Working with well-known artistes like Tom and Amit, who are masters at what they do, has been a good experience. This play could not have been made without them,” Dwivedi added.
The musical encompasses numerous emotions and shows various stages in life that a person goes through which makes it highly endearing to the audience. It opens with the grand birth of Annant, the protagonist played by Harsh Mayar who is born out of the five elements — earth, water, fire, air and ether. “The merging of the elements, Annant going through the various phases before being born is a beautiful portrayal of the formation of life,” Dwivedi said.
The play progressed on to show how Annant met his paighamber at every step in his life and how he guided and enlightened him though the course. Annant feels enlightened by seeking the advice of paighamber and grows up to become a better human being. Vikas told us, “The play is filled with shocking revelations. In the end it is revealed that Annant is none other than Khalil Gibran and the paighamber he met at various aspects of life is nothing but his own subconscious. So Annant, Gibran and paighamber are all one.”
Despite Paighamber being his eighth play, Dwivedi is a humble soul and his amiability puts one at ease instantly. He went on to say, “The Prophet has twenty six chapters and incorporating all that into ninety minutes was a challenge. But I picked up the five elements from a dramatic viewpoint, created a story around them and then developed it further along the way. Being a philosophical play with no melodrama or entertainment factor, adding elements like smoke, music and playing with the lights was the only way to keep the audience engaged.”
The play also has Chhattisgarhi folk music and folk dance Karma. When asked about how he came across such folk numbers, he shared, “I belong to MP. There I was first introduced to this folk art. The rhythm and intensity which it follows lend a different character to the play. Apart from Paighamber being entirely in Hindi, the folk music and the Karma dance give the play its uniqueness.” Dwivedi entered the world of theatre in 2010 believes that every director imparts some of his own personality in a play. “And that is what has happened with Paighamber as well. Every scene is somehow inspired from my life instances,” he said.
The reaction of the audience is the main focus of any artist, and Vikas Dwivedi is no different. “In the end, it’s the audience that decides how well the play is presented. And if the audience is open about the criticisms and the high points in a play, then we’ve hit gold,” he averred. Vikas is ecstatic that Paighamber is doing fabulously and is being well received by the spectators. “Even after doing many plays previously, good reviews of each new play give me a rush of happiness,” he shared. His next venture entails another play based on Anand Neelakanatan’s novel Asura which is in its production stage at the moment.