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‘‘ Theatre in
Hyderabad
used to be
limited to
October
and
February
but now
stage
performances
carry on
throughout
the
year.
There are
at least
15 theatre
groups
alive and
kicking in
this multicultural
city.
46
Theatre
‘‘
passion-for story-telling as if it were alive, for
the love of acting, for the excitement of being
different people at different times. There was
no school for drama and therefore learning
became a hands on kind of job. When you
joined a theatre
group you learnt
everything you
could, right from
making chai,
to becoming a
director’s assistant,
to printing and
selling tickets, to
being an usher
Vinay Verma or a-behind-thescenes
guy!
Mala Pasha who heads Torn Curtains
comes from such a background. Torn Curtains
is one of the earliest English theatre groups
of Hyderabad. Back in the early 70’s the
only other group was the Dramatic Circle of
Hyderabad which put up an English play once
a year. Both the groups did adaptations of the
pre-war British classics- all kinds of murders,
mysteries and comedies. Although it was
theatre in India, it was definitely ‘foreign’ in
ambience, accent and attitudes!
Now, Mala has made a conscious effort to
adapt her stories to the Indian scenario, hence
the success of her latest offering: Lee Mueller’s
iconic English play ‘Murder Me Always’ at the
Secunderbad Club. The audience enjoyed
every bit of the performance mainly because
they could relate to the Indianised scenario,
the Indian names and nuances. The tickets
were sold out in the first few hours. Of course
the language remains English — the way it
is spoken in India, minus any fake or local
accents!
The History of Theatre in Hyderabad
Many decades before independence , the
Parsi Theatre Group produced many Urdu
plays written by Agha Hashr Kashmiri. Some
Marathi and Telugu associations were staging
plays in languages other than Hindustani. The
Dramatic Circle of Hyderabad(DCH) was started
by Minoo Chenoy in the early 70’s and later
taken over by Pranava Singhal. Theirs was the
first attempt at amateur English theatre in
Hyderabad. Although theatre in Urdu and
Hindustani already had a more established
presence in Hyderabad for a long time.
In 1970, Qadir Ali Baig started The New
Theatre of Hyderabad and produced and
directed short plays for the benefit of his
friends. They were staging plays almost every
month to the delight of theatre lovers in
Hyderabad.
Around the same time Sutradhar came into
effect with Bhaskar Shewalkar, the eminent
playwright who continues to experiment
with new thoughts and ideas in Hindi and
Hyderabadi. Vinay Verma who is a very keen
stage and cinema artist is the dynamic energy
that has brought Sutradhar almost centre
stage to Hindi theatre in Hyderabad. His ‘Main
Rahi Masoom’, a monologue on the life and
times of the well known Hyderabadi poet,
Rahi Masoom Raza, has been making waves
across the country.
Sutradhar: almost centre stage to Hindi theatre in Hyderabad
His ‘Biryani Aur Haleem,’ which is a comedy
based on Hugh Chesterman’s ‘The Pie And The
Tart’ has Hyderabadi nuances down to a fine
art and locals love the performance. When you
understand the typical Hyderabadi lingo, you
really enjoy the satire and wit!
Theatre festivals in Hyderabad used to
be limited to October and February. But now
we have stage performances throughout the
year. Even as I write this I am told there are at
least 15 theatre groups alive and kicking in this
multicultural city.
Shyamola Khanna is a freelance writer
based in Hyderabad
The International Indian