Jairangam Theatre Festival kicks off in Jaipur with Danish Hussain's play

The

Jairangam Theatre Festival

has been celebrating vibrancy, drama and the beautiful colours of society since 2012 in Jaipur. In its seventh edition now, the fest began with a

Dastangoi

drama, written and directed by

Danish Hussain

.

Qissa Urdu Ki Akhri Kitaab Ka

, based on the famous Pakistani-Urdu poet and writer Ibn-e-Insha’s book, was staged on the inaugral day of the festival. The makers tweaked the play to suit the Indian context.

A scene from the play

The tale begins with artists Danish Hussain and Yasir Iftekhar Khan who bring forth the subject of Indian history and how politicians have changed its narrative for their own interests.

One of the actors enacting a scene from the play

The two-hour long play chronicles the arrival of foreign invaders in India, making of modern India, corruption, the state of our education system, mob lynching and demonetisation. The artistes did not just stick to the script but improvised on stage, which was largely appreciated by the audience.

Actors Saurabh Shukla and Sadiya Siddiqui at the theatre festival

Prominent people attended the curtain -raiser of the week-long festival that ends on December 22. Among the guests were theatre actors Saurabh Shukla and Sadiya Siddiqui who were seated in the front row. When we asked Saurabh about the play, he said, “ I think I laughed the loudest in the whole auditorium. The play depicted the state and the present scenario of our country well. And I loved the beautiful use of the Urdu language.”

Artistes in puppet costumes