Daily Times

Faisalabad Literary Festival ended on a high note with powerful performance of Ajoka’s Bala King. The biting political satire was well received by a full Nusrat Fateh Ali auditorium and was given a prolonged applause. Written by Shahid Nadeem and originally directed by Ajoka icon Madeeha Gauhar, the play revolved around a gangster from inner city of Lahore who enters politics and goes to the top with a combination of bribery, intimidation and propaganda. Bala King was played by Usman Raaj and other cast included Naseem Abbas, Mohammad Qaiser, Muzammil Shabir, Azka Latif, Haifa Ibrahim, Shehzad Sadiq, Shujaat Haider, Bilal Mughal, Rabeel, Bilal Hassan, , jazib, Meesam, Luke, Anish, Hammad, Ahmad and Kaif. Live musin was presented by Naseem Abbas, Kanwal Christopher and Thomas Yousaf. Speaking on the occasion Ajoka director Shahid Nadeem said the play was a warning for the people to resist gangsters and goons becoming political leaders.