Renowned playwright Asif Ali says, “When I started my career in theatre, I am attached to the theatre group Rang Vidushak. I showed my keen interest to the work of this group. This is because, I chose Bhopal for the opening show of my play ‘Varun Ke Bete’.”
Notable play writer and director Asif Ali Haidar Khan talks about his latest play in the city of lakes. He also shared his experiences of being into theatres with The Pioneer.
A Hindi play ‘Varun Ke Bete’ would be staged in two-day theatre festival organised by Rang Vidushak theatre Group, Bhopal. The festival would begin at Shaheed Bhavan on March 29. The National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi alumni Asif manages to sum up the whole world of theatres in a small conversation. Being a theatre personality, Asif first talked about his play ‘Varun Ke Bete’, which is an adaptation of a Hindi novel written by Nagarjun. The play revolves around land reform movement in India. “The story is based on the lives of fishermen and the land reform movement. It tells about the struggle of fishermen and their quarrel with the Zamindars”, he added. The novel is more in an opera form as it has a lot of music. The play revolves around the story of a young girl Madhuri, whose father is a fisherman. She marries her love of life Mangal against her father’s permission, and becomes a prey of domestic violence. She fights for community’s right after returning back.
While asking about his journey Asif says, “I started my career in theatre in Bihar after Basant Kaul, who was my mentor in NSD. We have done a lot works together and his creation for Rang Vidushak has always maintained a special place in my heart. I have received Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar for my playwriting in 2007.”
“It is co-incident that the opening show of my play got connected with World Theatre Day,” he added. Ali has worked for many feature films as well and his other productions are in process.