A peek into the life of the Mughal empress

Peninsular Studios lends an environment to artists, poets and composers to express their creativity in an unique studio. It is also a place for afficiandos to enjoy live performance while they are being recorded and filmed.

The first offering of Peninsular was Chamber Theatre, a musical theatre presentation of a dramatic story of O.P. Nayyar, the man, the legend and his music.

The play was directed by Sita Raina who also wrote the script along with Atima Mankotia which was produced by Subroto Chattopadhyay. It was a delightful evening with songs sung by the singers and while we heard the music of these songs as they were recorded in the films. The tick-tock sound of the tonga, was heard throughout the singing, which was symtomatic of O.P. Nayyar’s music.

The Peninsular Studios promises a journey into Rajasthan and Punjab besides baithak recording with maestros of classical music.

Noor, a play written in English by Feisal Alkazi and translated into Hindustani by M.A. Jawed was staged at the Stein Auditorium at the India Habitat Centre as were the other two plays. The play is about Noor Jehan, the young girl abandoned as a child by parents who were political refugees and rose to become the empress of Mughal India when she married Jehangir. She was a widow with a child, a business woman, a connoisseur of art and a clever politician who wielded much power when she finally married Jehangir who was Akbar’s son.

We see the play through the eyes of an old eunuch, Nazakat Khan, played very well by Jaipreet Singh. Amongst the other actors, Sunit Tondon did a lot for emperor Akbar and was good as Sir Thomas Roe. The head of the harem, played by Madhu Prasad, was a good cameo. This was the best performance by Radhika Alkazi that I have seen. She was more comfortable with the language rather than English and she played Noor Jehan as a mysterious woman who dwelled in the palace and managed to get all the gossip and used it very judiciously for her own good. Jaipreet Singh as the sutradhar held the play together.

Anjum and later known as Mumtaz Mahal was played with finesse by Smita Majumdar Rajaram. Qaisar Jamal in two roles was also good. This play, despite it’s length, is a good first attempt by Feisal Alkazi who is also the director.

An Old World Culture presentation was Amavas Se Amaltas. Directed by Smita Bharati, this Hinglish production was a joyful expression of old age and its confrontation with the youth of today. Jayati Bhatia is a once upon a time judge who adopts two children and invites a third child into her house. The children played by Sumier Pasricha and Ankita Bhargava are poles apart. Pasricha encounters problem with his speech as he goes into a peculiar moaning sound whenever he is crossed by anybody. The mother comes running out each time this happens and she has cervical cancer. Chitrashee Rawat comes into their lives as a breath of fresh air where she has been judged as a murdrer and as a child who is incapable of a leading an ordinary life. She sees Jay (S. Pasricha) dancing to some music and joins him. She is attractive and a good dancer. Jay falls for her till she affronts him and he goes into the same moaning which wakes up the old lday who comes out to see what has happened. She has apparently seen Chitrashee while she was a judge.

She gave her telphone number to her five years ago. Chitrashee tried to be very nice to her, almost in a sexual way which the old lady resents and she reminds her that she has had no sex in her life and that both her children are adopted.

Meanwhile, Jay is absolutely puzzled at about what is going on. Then the daughter returns and doesn’t like the idea of this girl being there.

In the end the old judge dies and we see the three of them living together and we hear Chitrashee Rawat on the telephone talking to an NGO committed to looking after children. She asks “what are they going to do with the child who is a rape victom?” We see a reformed Chitrashee.

The play ends with two girls going out in the lawn behind and while they talked to each other they remember the mother with affection and promise to try and emulate her. All the actors very efficiently playing their roles. Lighting and set design was also very economical.

The writer is a theatre personality and a well-known critic