A befitting tribute to Gauhar Jaan

“When I read the book ‘My Name is Gauhar Jaan’, instantly I decided to stage her life,” says renowned theatre actress Lillette Dubey, who is the director of the play ‘Gauhar’ that was staged at Ravindra Bharati as part of the ‘Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival’. Bringing forth the greatness of the legendary singer and dancer, the two-hour play depicted the ups and downs she faced in her life.

It begins at Dil Khush Mansion, Mysore where Gauhar spent her last days. She (the old Gauhar Jaan) explains how she lost her properties by trusting wrong people. Singer and actor, Zila Khan performed the character with ease. Rajeswary Sachdev, who performed the young Gauhar Jaan role, narrated how she failed in relationships.

The play also explains how people reacted about Gramophones when introduced in the country. Gauhar Jaan needs no introduction. She is the first Indian singer who had her voice recorded when no one else dared to do that. Some of her famous musical hits in Ghazal, Thumri and Dadra were also rendered during the play.

Artistes Denzil Smith, Danny Sura, Gillian Pinto, Rajeev Siddhartha, Parinaz Jal, Salim Akhtar, Jignesh Karia and Shravan Borana enthralled the audience with their performance. Said Dubey, “The play was inspired by the book ‘My Name is Gauhar Jaan’ written by Vikram Sampath.

When I was in the proceedings of the play many people said that it was old and it will be boring for people. But, till now we performed it upto 40 times and every time we got amazing response. “I believe that people will definitely know the importance of her after watching this play. She inspired many budding singers and musicians in India,” she added.