Director and founder of MAAS Theatre, lahore, Amir Nawaz, tells S Mallik why he believes that theatre is the best way to reach out to people, the social issues that his plays talk about and why the justice system in Pakistan is delayed
Amir Nawaz did not have the haughtiness of being a theatre director when we sat down for a talk. He did not seem tired even after an hour of managing the stage lights for his play Guddo, of which he is also the director. MAAS Theatre, under which the play was produced, belongs to him. “I believe theatre can change the world,” he said. Amir established MAAS Foundation in 2002 to start parallel theatre in Pakistan.
It is with that belief that he has been churning out plays based on social issues. Women’s rights, child and women sexual abuses, HIV and lack of interfaith harmony are a few of them. “Not many people realise that there is a lot of scope in Pakistan for theatre. People are very much interested in parallel theatre and plays based on social issues. That’s why we started this and we have received a lot of appreciation,” he said. The director believes in using theatre to spread a message.
His play Guddo, rendered in Urdu, revolves around the issue of child sexual abuses. It narrates the story of parents who try to prove the innocence of their daughter in society. When the system fails them, they take matters in their own hands.
The justice system in Pakistan, he said, is delayed. “There is a lot of struggle that the people have to go through to get justice, which is sometimes not even delivered. People in power misuse laws and that’s why common people try to find other ways rather than wait for justice administered from the courts,” said Amir. The reason of the delay he mentioned, “are mafias and people who do not want the existence of a quick justice system. There are laws which can be applicable but people are not very familiar with them. They do not know how to utilise them. and that is the basic reason why we try to focus on creating awareness. Through our plays we try to educate people on what laws they can use to their advantage and how, to get justice.”
MAAS has performed plays in Urdu and Seraiki (a Punjabi dialect) earlier. Amir feels that a play in the local dialect strikes a better chord with the audience. “We try to do theatre in a language which the common people can understand. If we do a play in English and the message does not reach the audience, all our efforts fail,” he explained. Their plays are filled with poetry of Kalam, Baba Bulleh Shah and Sultan Bahu. “In Guddo there is a song called Dukhani Mari, written by me,” he added.
They are currently working on a big project called Banjh. “The play is about the lOC between India and Pakistan, especially in Siachen. It will highlight how soldiers from both the countries fight and die for such a barren piece of land. It will also question the futileness of both the countries in deploying jawans to fight for a land from where we can get nothing but ice and water,”he summed up.
This is the first time they have worked with DIAF and Amir mentioned that it was because of DIAF’s efforts that the group faced no problem with their visa.