The smoke from the fires formed a hazy canvas on stage and on it, the actors of Darpan theatre, painted an awe inspiring picture by bringing the words of Saadat Hasan Manto to life. The two plays staged, Khol Do and Thanda Gosht, were directed by Ali Ahmed. Khol do is a story about an old man, played by Suraj, who lost his daughter Sakina, played by Ankita, while migrating from India to Pakistan during the partition.
The man seeks help from some Razzakaar men to find his daughter. But the world victimizes everybody. They do find his daughter, but then keep her for their own recreation and what the old man gets is a living corpse. The way this reality was delivered to the audience by a simple gesture was so heart wrenching that the audience just sat there in stupendous silence. Suraj’s performance was a monologue and he ruled the stage.
Thanda Gosht had twists that would spin your head. Ishar Singh (Rajnish), a dacoit, has a girlfriend Kulwant (Shailaja) whom he loves dearly. The sensual chemistry the two actors weave is something that the Hyderabad stage seldom gets to see. But in a bizarre turn of events, Kulwant thinks that Ishar is cheating on him and ends up slitting his throat. By the time the audience processes this, yet another boomerang comes their way in the form of Ishar’s dying words which is a twist that left the audience in a tizzy. The actors were so deep in their characters that you could feel their emotions. The live tabla, the smoke, the fire, the sensual foreplay, could not have been better. With this play, Darpan theatre really showed a mirror to the society and it was a rude reflection of reality to deal with.
