Theatre world salutes Hashmi
More than two decades ago, while performing the play Halla Bol on the outskirts of Delhi, the communist actor, director, lyricist Safdar Hashmi was brutally murdered. But his murder didn’t weaken the street theatre scene in the country, rather it made it even stronger. Since then, Hashmi’s birth anniversary on April 12 is observed as the National Theatre Day all across the country.
Joyoti Roy, National Culture Fund, Ministry of Culture, Jana Natya Manch, Delhi, says that many college groups as well as theatre groups across the country perform plays on this day, paying a tribute to Hashmi. “While every year, Jan Natya Manch celebrates the day with performances, this time we decided to come up with a studio space in West Delhi that will be launched today, followed by a string of cultural programs that include a performance by Shubha Mudgal and staging of Halla Bol,” says Joyoti.
Jansanskrti, a Kerela-based theatre group, has come up with the play You Are The Flame of Street, focusing on Hashmi’s political journey. It will be staged in Delhi later this month.
M.V. Santosh, the general secretary of Jansanskrti, says their play tries to showcase that it was not an attack on Hashmi but his political ideas. “If it was any other person in place of Hashmi advocating the same political beliefs, he too would have been attacked. Our play tries to focus on that perspective,” says Santosh, adding that the play has been written after taking proper inputs from Moloyshri Hashmi (wife of Safdar Hashmi).
“To make the plot stronger, we’ve even included some parts of plays like Halla Bol, Aurat and DTC Ki Dhandli,” he adds. Besides the above programmes, to mark National Street Theatre Day 2012, Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) would be launching a book Balraj and Bhisham Sahni: Brothers in Political Theatre that discusses the formation and functioning of IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association), besides popular IPTA songs will be also sung.
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