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Poetic perspectives
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Arif Zakaria to enact Maqdoom’s poetry in ‘Raat Phoolon Ki’
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Photo: S. Subramanium
Role call Arif Zakaria
This evening, the Taramati Baradari will come alive for an experiment that Hyderabad theatre lovers will witness for the first time. Imagine some of the best poems or nazms of Maqdoom being interpreted in three different ways – by an actor, a composer and a dancer. “Raat Phoolon Ki will feature 12 to 15 poems of Maqdoom. As I read and enact the poems, Rahul Sharma will interpret it through music and Dr. Alekhya through dance. It’s going to be a different experience and that drew me to the presentation,” says actor Arif Zakaria.
Different strokes
Arif has been rehearsing for the presentation with Rahul and Mohammad Ali Baig and says, “I’ve visited Hyderabad on work earlier but this is far more challenging. In fact, Baig and me wanted to collaborate for a film earlier, which eventually didn’t work out. This time, our common interest in Urdu poetry brought us together.”
Taking on challenging tasks has been Arif’s forte. He film debut, Kalpana Lajmi’s Darmiyaan, had him play a eunuch, a role that was thumbed down by a number of leading actors including Shah Rukh Khan. “The role broke conventions. Kalpana and I had worked on a television series earlier and she had the confidence that I would do justice to the part. Given a chance, I’d love to work with her again.”
Since then, Arif has been making rather unconventional choices and is at ease doing so. A pivotal part in Dance Like A Man, he considers, was equally challenging to that of Darmiyaan. “Because this involved me to learn Bharatanatyam and act with an accomplished dancer-actress like Shobhana,” he recalls.
Theatre and movies are Arif’s twin passions. Currently on a break from his Europe tour, he says, “As part of the Merchants of Bollywood group, I get to see how Europe has opened up to our films. Bollywood is emerging to be a cult genre like rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop. In Germany and the UK, we had foreigners watching the show in large numbers. Bollywood isn’t limited to the NRIs. I’ll be rejoining the group in the next two months.”
Away from the glitz and glamour of Bollywood, Arif will give the audience a reality check with his film Kahani Gudiya ki. “The film is a true account of Gudiya’s life, an incident which shocked the nation. There are a few creative liberties that have been taken for the film though. We finished the film a year ago but the release has been delayed owing to litigations.” Kahani Gudiya Ki and Sujoy Ghosh’s Alladin are the films on his platter for this year. “Sujoy Ghosh’s film is a children’s fantasy film which will feature Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt. I’ve enjoyed Sujoy’s earlier work and looking forward to Alladin,” he says.
SANGEETHA DEVI DUNDOO
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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