Main Raahi Masoom - By Rangadhara Theatre Stream: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR MAIN RAAHI MASOOM -...

Samahaara, in association with the University of Hyderabad, the British Library Hyderabad, Yavanika, LIC of India, Hansel School, Ashish Pearls, Planet M, fullhyd.com, Hampshire Plaza Hotel, Jawed Habib Banjara Hills, Clear Vision, and 040, is conducting The Hyderabad Theatre Festival from the 10th June to the 14th at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium.

Adding to the budding fervour for theatre in the city, and taking passion for the field to another level is Samahaara, the theatre wing of 'The Magic If Creations,' the first theatre company of Hyderabad, and has been around for 5 years now, making efforts take theatre to the young, through plays, theatre workshops, technical support and directorial services.

The Hyderabad Theatre Festival is one of their initiatives in that direction. The event will see theatre groups from Hyderabad showcasing their productions.

On the 10th June, the first day of the festival, Rangadhara Theatre Stream is presenting Main Raahi Masoom, a 70-minute monologue in Hindustani on the life and times of the Late Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza. Enacted by Vinay Varma and directed by Prof. Bhaskar Shewalkar, the play starts at 7:30pm.

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 recreate the personality of Masoom, as she fondly remembers him.

This 70-minute 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 against fundamentalists on both sides of the divide, 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 the 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 point in time, its TRP was a staggering 86%. This was a triumph for Rahi as some Hindu zealots had criticized his inclusion in the team.

The schedule for the The Hyderabad Theatre Festival is as follows:

10 June Main Raahi Masoom - By Rangadhara Theatre Stream

11 June Ayn Rand's Night Of January 16th - By Nasr Dramatic Society

12 June Vijay Tendulkar's 'Anji' - By Nishumbita

13 June Mahesh Dattani's 'Bravely Fought The Queen' - By D Fir Dramatics

14 June Neil Simon's 'The Good Doctor' - By Dramanon

Passes of Rs. 100, Rs. 200 and Rs. 500 are available at the venue, and at Planet M stores (Banjara Hills Road No. 1, Himayat Nagar, Hyderabad Central, Madhapur & Parklane). Booking can also be done on www.bookmyshow.com.

Please contact Rathna Shekar Reddy at 98852-88982 / Kanchan at 96524-59389 for further details.