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Torn Curtains is back
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Mala Pasha revives one of the city’s oldest theatre groups with ‘Meri Kahani’
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Photo: Sangeetha Devi Dundoo
Second Innings Mala Pasha puts forth a powerful play
There are stories that need to be told, even if they are dark, raw and disturbing. “I know I cannot change society, but why not try to create awareness?” asks Mala Pasha, one of the veterans in Hyderabad’s theatre fraternity. “I am not carrying a banner for victims of domestic violence. That doesn’t serve any purpose. But through my play, I hope I can make that small group of audience think and make those women realise they have an option,” she says.
Meri Kahani, a combination of six monologues, has been written by Toronto-based Mehreen Poonja and Umbereen Inayet and directed by Mala. The play marks the revival of Torn Curtains, one of the oldest theatre groups in the city. Much before theatre became the buzzword in Hyderabad, a small group came together wanting to stage plays. After the Dramatic Circle of Hyderabad, theirs was the second theatre group in the city. “I was just 16 when Vaman Rao spotted me as a model and said we could do something for theatre. Both of us were from Kolkata and had this passion for theatre. Then my brother came down from Kolkata and we started the group,” she recalls.
Their first play, The Letters, by Somerset Maugham, was staged in 1971. “We did everything ourselves; we knocked on the doors of people and asked them if they wanted to buy tickets. Theatre consciousness never existed in the city. We persisted, did a few plays and then people started noticing our work. The actual change in theatre has happened in the last five years. Now I see the hunger for theatre in the city.”
Torn Curtains staged a number of adaptations. “We did the regular drawing room comedies and murder mysteries. But theatre has to reflect our culture. In the early 90s, we felt theatre needs to be localised, relevant and meaningful.” A string of Indian productions followed.
Now, having returned from Canada where she spent the recent few years, Mala wants to stir up things a bit. “I wanted a play that would be meaningful. It wasn’t easy since I am the only member left from the original group. My brother is in New York and Vaman Rao passed away a few years ago. I came to know about Mehreen Poonja and Umbereen Inayet through Nafisa Kasim, an actress who was travelling to the city. I liked the play and signed a contract for the Indian production. Nafisa is acting in the play and roped in her friends too.”
While in Canada, Mala worked with the Canadian Centre for Victims of War and Torture, teaching the victims English and helping them pick up the ropes in society again. “Theatre was my passion and I was a theatre volunteer there. I also met the victims of domestic violence and heard their stories,” she says.
Meri Kahani presents the stories of six women, each of whom have faced abuse. “These are issues that are brushed under the carpet or dismissed as incidents that happen in the rural areas. Abuse exists in different strata and even educated women are victims.” After staging in Hyderabad, the play will travel to Bangalore, Delhi, Vizag and Kolkata.
Beyond the play, Mala hopes to begin a centre for theatre in the city much like Rangashankara in Bangalore making the medium more affordable. While at it, she will also be reviving her theatre workshops.
(The play will be staged today at Prime Club, Ellaa Suites, Gachibowli at 7.30 p.m.)
SDD
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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