Amid the thriving theatre culture in the city, a group of youngsters is constantly trying to revive the Urdu theatre scenario since 2012. A 27-year-old boutique owner by profession as well as one of the founders of the Darpan Theatre group, Ali Ahmed shares his journey of transformation from a novice actor into a full-fledged theatre actor and director.
According to Ali, he may have got his love for theatre from his grandparents. “I think I got inclined towards theatre because of my grandparents who loved shayaris. And my tryst with theatre started way back in 2009 with my friend Rahul when I had joined Koshish Theatre Group to learn the nuances of the art. But we had to move out of the group because of the urge to perform on various other topics and not just on social issues which Koshish concentrated on. So Rahul, Nidhi and I became the founding members of Darpan,” narrates Ali. Elaborating further on why the trio chose to name the group Darpan, Ali says, “While we were brainstorming on what to name, we had to keep in mind what our ethos were. We wanted to bring forth a mirror in front of society and so the name Darpan happened.”
Darpan’s first play Devadasi was staged in 2012 and revolved around the life of a devadasi (a girl or woman who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for a lifetime). The play got them instant recognition and appreciation. “It gave us the courage to stand our ground and take us where we are now. It’s been five years since we’ve started and the whole team of Darpan has evolved by leaps and bounds,” expresses Ali.
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The stories which the group presents on stage are all very hard-hitting — always pushing the audience to think and contemplate beyond what meets the eye. Their latest venture Yodha is also intense. “It’s the story of a soldier who loses even after winning all the battles. The soldier fights all of his wars with great valour, defeats the enemies but when he comes back home, he sees that his entire family has been brutally killed in the local riots,” reveals Suraj Meshram, who is the director and one of the main characters in Yodha. Suraj, who has been with the team for many years now, feels that stories like Yodha should be told more often. The members of this theatre group also believe that their music adds a different dimension to the stories. “Darpan always tries to put up unique plays, be it the story or the live action on stage. We try to incorporate live music on stage which further enhances our performances. Helping us achieve that is Nikhilesh, our in-house music director,” explains Ali. Interestingly,
even for Yodha , the team has prepared a tabla piece that plays in the backdrop.
