A satirical take on royal power

From choosing Hindi language as the medium for the play to their performance mistakes; cast and director of ‘Ek Shaahi Raat’ share their thoughts in a conversation with Hyderabad Hans

Arundhuti Banerjee

The recent production of ‘The Turiya Group’ was a reflection of the fact that the core situation in a kingdom has not changed. Whether in Europe or in India, the act of a king remains the same: acting as a joker. The 70 minute Hindi play ‘Ek Shaahi Raat’ directed by Bavani Ganti, is an Indian adaptation of the ‘Night of the Gods’ that was written by Miro Gavran in 1986.

“Since it is an old play, there are certain elements I kept in mind while adapting the play. Though the play was written to reflect the European political situation, the basic ploy is the same. The prime person in administration is nothing but the follower of his ministers. To understand the situation better, look at our Prime Minister; Sonia Gandhi is driving the car, isn’t it?” says Bavani. The play is the story of a king who falls in love with a lady and wants her to be in his life. But by the end of the journey, she attempts suicide, how does the situation change and what the king decides to do, builds up to the climax.

According to the director the purpose of choosing Hindi as language was to promote Hindi theatre in the city. But some use of words, mannerisms and pronunciation of actors (The king asks his court writer, “ Kya tum mujhe pyaar karta ho? The writer answered nodding his head, “ main aap se piyaar kartha ta”…) stood out as it was unbearable; though the acting was efficient it managed covered up such flaws. “Well, we just have done 25 days rehearsal before the play. And it was the first show. So there are bound to be some small mistakes that take place on stage, but my actors have done justice to their characters at the end of it,” explained the director. The characters of king, writer and court member were staged by Rahul Reddy, Vinay Abhishek, Afroz Hassaini respectively.

Rahul, who played the king, shared his thoughts on theatre acting. He said it becomes useful for him as it liberates him and his thoughts and views on life. “It is only in theatre where you get a change to live with the character for a long time, 40-50 days. Method acting is the reason. It helps me to analyse human psychology and therefore I am not judgmental.

When I disagree with the view of a character that I play, my analytical thought supports me to deliver that on stage,” said the actor. Even after directing and acting in more than twenty films that were screened in prestigious short film festivals of London, LA or Germany, he prefers theatre over films because, “ There are two reasons, theatre is an actor’s medium where in film, the director is the captain of the ship. The encouragement for method acting is dying out within a regular film actor. Since that is my preference and passion, I will continue my journey as a theatre actor,” he added.