27 Jan : MAIN RAHI MASOOM @ Ravindra Bharati
Karishma Pais
After an eventful 2008, we began the New Year with a bang performing at Ranga Shankara, Bangalore and Rishi Valley School, Rishi Valley to a very, very receptive audience. ...And before we move on to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai with the show....
Sutradhar
Presents
Rangadhara-The Theatre Stream’s 99th production
MAIN RAHI MASOOM
A 70-minute monologue on the life and times of the Late Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza
Enacted by Vinay Varma
And
Directed by Prof. Bhaskar Shewalkar
At
Ravindra Bharati, Hyderabad
On Tuesday, 27th January, 2009
At
7.30 pm.
Tickets: Rs. 200/- and Rs.100/-
Tickets can also be bought online from www.buzzintown.com.
Bookings can also be made at Ravindra Bharati, Hyderabad from 24th January, 2009
between 5 pm and 8 pm.
For tele-bookings and further details call Sandeep Hemnani (98852 37887)
and Vinay Varma (98480 52541)
Seating would be on first-come-first-serve basis.
Since the play is of a serious kind and demands great attention, it advisable not to bring in children below the age of 12.
The play is a biographical sketch of the famous Hindi and Urdu writer, the Late Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza. The script is compiled by Sutradhar from a 519-page Hindi journal called ABHINAV KADAM dedicated exclusively to the memory of Rahi on his 75th birthday, and various sources from the internet. Inputs from his son Nadeem Khan and his wife Mrs. Nayyar Jahan helped us recreate the personality of Masoom, as she fondly remembers him. This performance is first of its kind on Rahi.
This 70-minute poignant monologue shows how Rahi detested communal and vote-bank politics, and how he fought against the divisive forces in the country through his writings. He was a strong nationalist and a Muslim next who staunchly opposed pseudo-secularism. He was upfront against the fundamentalists on both sides of the divide. He was brutally honest regarding politics of hatred, and felt that the interest of communal elements among both Hindus and Muslims lies in keeping the two communities aloof from each other and to create distrust among them.
Rahi’s journey begins on 1st September, 1927 in Gangauli, a small village in the Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh and ends with his vaseeyat in which he wills that
he be laid to rest in the lap of Ganga, whom he considered his second mother. He passed away on 15 March 1992.
In his career spanning 35 years, Rahi Masoom Raza has written lyrics, dialogues and stories for various movies and television series. His high came with the telecast of TV series 'Mahabharat' that was based on the Hindu epic Mahabharat. Rahi, a Muslim, wrote the screenplay and dialogue of the TV series that went on to become the most watched TV series in India. At one time, its TRP was a staggering 86 %. This was a triumph for Rahi as some Hindu zealots had criticized his inclusion in the team.
Please forward the mail to interested friends and related groups. This play needs to reach out to as many as possible considering the troubled times our country is passing through.
Vinay Varma