World Theatre Day: These shows keep going on

Surat: Imagine the audience shouting for a dialogue to be delivered again in a play, 60 years after it was first performed. There are a few plays from the city that are popular among theatre lovers across the country and have been performed for decades. Interestingly, all their shows are paid, but the actors do not charge any money except for their expenses.

Theatre veteran Yazdi Karanjia and his group have been performing "Kutra Ni Puchhdi Vanki" and "Behram Ni Sasu" since 1962-63, while his "Ghar Ghughro Ane Ghotalo" has been performed since 1970. Noted theatre personality Kapildev Shukla and his group have been staging "Ghar Umbar Ane Faliyama" since 1989 and "Akhar Ni Atmakatha" since 1999. At 89, Karanjia often gets requests to perform these plays, which were first staged in 1962.



"People love them even today, and in all shows, the hall is full. It shows that even in the time of digital media and OTT, people like good theatre," said Karanjia, who was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021 for his contribution to theatre. Karanjia's group has performed "Kutra Ni Puchhdi Vanki" and "Behram Ni Sasu" over 500 times.

In his group, all members are his family or friends. For Karanjia's group, theatre is not a source of income, and they charge only for their expenses. Both plays are Gujarati comedies in the Parsi dialect.

In Shukla's group, the members are his former students who continued working with him. Shukla and his group do not charge for their performances but collect only their expenses. His group performed "Akhar Ni Atmakatha" in Mumbai in Feb.

"On people's demand, various organizations hold our shows in Mumbai and other places in the country. It is an honour that people love watching these old stories again and again," said Shukla. Dedicating his life to theatre, Shukla has performed in 108 plays, directed 87 and written 33.

People shout "once more" when the song "Ek doshi dosa ne haju prem kare chhe" is performed, and in many shows, the audience sings along. So far, Shukla's group has performed 154 shows of "Akhar Ni Atmakatha". The play has won various awards and contests and has been performed at top state and national theatre events.

World Theatre Day is celebrated on March 27..