Acting under a burqa on February 28, 2018Ajoka, the theatre group I was born into (courtesy its founders, my parents), has been admired and despised for its bold and controversial plays. There have been plays about despotic dictators, about hypocritical preachers and corrupt politicians, wife beaters, honour killers and misogynists. You name a horror story, and Ajoka has a play on it. […]
Becoming Romeo: an actor’s sojourn on February 24, 2018Once Moses was passing through a forest where he saw an unkempt simple man, praying strangely: ‘Oh Lord, let me caress your hair, let me look into your divine eyes, let me touch your face, your hands, let me bathe in your magnificent beauty…’ Horrified, Moses bellowed at him, telling him that he had committed […]
An actor’s sojourns: the Behkawa experience on February 14, 2018One of my first television serials, Behkawa, was also my most memorable. I had worked in PTV serials so far, which was a valuable learning experience. However, working in a state-owned organisation is a different experience. There are no pressures from the marketing team or the channel owners. In most cases, the producers are laid […]
Becoming Banda Singh: an actor’s sojourns on February 9, 2018Being offered the role of Banda Singh in Ajoka’s critically acclaimed play ‘Bulha’ was a huge honour and challenge. Ajoka’s landmark play, showcased around the world and taught in universities abroad, is about the Sufi poet Bulleh Shah and his struggle against the muftis and nawabs of his day. I had watched the play umpteen […]
Being and becoming: an actor’s sojourns on January 28, 2018Although my naana was an army officer (and I live in the Lahore Cantonment), my parents’ association with the army was not a pleasant one. My father was imprisoned (as a political activist) by three successive Martial Law regimes and my mother too was arrested for protesting against the Zia regime. (This aversion to army […]
Becoming Bhagat Singh on January 21, 2018A few years ago, I was offered the role of Bhagat Singh for an Ajoka Theatre play “Mera Rang Day Basanti Chola”. I did not know much about the man but accepted the challenging offer. The director told me that I had a lot in common with Bhagat Singh, including my appearance. I was intrigued, […]
Of new frontiers on October 20, 2017There was a time, not long ago, when fear ruled the Christian World. Religion had been merged with State, resulting in the Ultimate supremacy of the Church. This supremacy resulted in what we now call the ‘crusades’; wars waged in the name of religion resulting in millions of deaths. The Church superseded even the so-called […]
The battle for Pakistan is over and done with on June 8, 2017There was a time, when we used to actually believe something, anything. There was a time, when people used to support a political party largely, because they used to actually believe in it. It was a time of ideologies and vision. The supporters of PPP fundamentally wanted a socialist Pakistan. Many were baton charged, scores […]
Dangerous games on May 4, 2017When you keep snakes in your backyard, they are bound to bite. The snakes may be meant for the various pests in the neighbourhood, you may feed them well, even give them a nice pat or two when they gobble up the annoying rabbit next door, but a creature whose fundamental nature is to eat […]
Welcome to Al-Bakistan on July 4, 2016From Ramazan to ‘Ramadan’, Pakistan to ‘Al-Bakistan’, ‘Khuda Hafiz’ to ‘Allah Hafiz’, has been a painful journey for us over the past three decades. These cosmetic changes actually represent a more significant societal change, a move for the ‘Arabisation’ of our land of the pure. Pakistan, once, had been a pretty much open society. Women […]