Bollywood’s well-known casting director Mukesh Chhabra, with some sound support from industry bigwigs, launched Khidkiyaan — a theatre platform in the city that aims to make the stage a more mainstream vehicle of entertainment that is not just restricted to festivals.
Casting director Mukesh Chhabra added a new dimension to his art with a theatre venture he launched in the city on Wednesday. Produced by his father T.C. Chhabra, Khidkiyaan is a five-day theatre festival that offers a new option for theatre lovers in the city. Hosted at the Sathaye College, the first edition of the fest features five plays, namely, Chittaranjan Tripathi’s Gunno Bai, Ishteyak Arif Khan’s Shadow of Othello, Dheerendra Dwivedi’s Old Munk, Prashant Kumar’s Blackbird and Ram Ji Bali’s Koi Baat Chale.
The non-ticketed fest started with a soulful performance by National Award winning lyricist-singer Swanand Kirkire, who was joined in his endeavour by Jasleen Royal. Tisca Chopra made the inaugural speech after which T.C. Chhabra, Imtiaz Ali and Vikas Bahl lit the ceremonial lamp.
Imtiaz Ali, who is known to be on time at events, reached late for this one. “In Mumbai, when you go for events you start by saying sorry. The explanation of why I am late is very long,” he said on a lighter note, adding, “But I am very happy and inspired by the initiative that has been taken by Mukesh and his father. As far as I am concerned, theatre is very deeply connected to the work that I do in cinema — good or bad. I congratulate Mukesh for that.” Vikas said, “Khidkiyaan is a beautifully organised initiative. I hope now people consider this option too in the weekend instead of just going to the movies.”
Imtiaz also spoke of the changes he’d like to see in the realm of theatre. “We need to have more original content. Also, the fact that censorship doesn’t apply to theatre is an opportunity that we should use well. That doesn’t mean we resort to nudity and titillation, but we can work with more relevant subjects. We must also explore more avenues for staging plays. And I want to say one thing to the people who do theatre that don’t worry about the size of the audience. As it is you are performing for a smaller audience compared to other mediums. The auditorium can be smaller or not reputed. But we must develop more options for show venues.”
Mukesh stressed on the importance of experimentation. “People are not experimenting. We should not restrict theatre to just festivals; it needs to be made a more a regular activity and that only happen through more venues. We need more Prithvis in the city. So more people need to come forward and support theatre,” he said.
Swanand Kirkire, who performed at the event, was all praised for its founder. “Coming from a theatre background, Mukesh knows the field well. A festival like this should travel to various cities.”
