A review on Pakistani Rom-Drama theatre play, ‘Bandhan’ (2018). It’s Costume Designed by Maharukh Ali while it’s Co-Production Designed by Ayesha Iqbal.

+ Crew

• Production Designed & Directed by Hassan Raza
• Music by Nigel Bobby
• Lights & Back Stage by Masood ul Rehman
• Makeup & Hairstyling by Sikandar Rao
• Produced by NRT

+ Note
Bandhan is loosely based on Lorca’s Blood Wedding. It is not an adaptation but inspired by the play Blood Wedding (1932), written by Federico Garcia Lorca. It is a play about love betrayal and revenge. The play reflects the honor killings that we read today. Only Hasan and Aisha have returned to take up new characters to perform in Bandhan. Their previous hit play was Jaloos (2017)

A professional musician team was hired to do the job. Maharukh Ali is also a talented actress but it’s a wonder why she has restricted herself to perform in some plays only.

+ Full Cast:

1. Hajra Yamin as Hajra / Bride
2. Asad Gojar as Asad / Ex-Lover
3. Hasan Khan as Hasan / Groom
4. Sehrish Qb as Asad’s Wife
5. Shabana Hasan as Hasan’s Mother
6. Zain Nazar as Hajra’s Father
7. Ayesha Iqbal as Ayesha, Cousin of Hajra
8. Roohi Ahmed as Roohi, Cousin of Hajra
9. Asma Noor as Asma, Cousin of Hajra
10. Safia as Safiya, Cousin of Hajra
11. Samhaan Qazi as Molvi
12. Faisal Ballu as Ballu
13. Farhan Rizvi as Baali
14. Naila Nawab as Asad’s Mother-in-Law

+ Plot

A wedding is set to place soon at a house full of close relatives and guests. Hajra is nervous yet looking forward to her marriage with Hasan who loves her very much. Everyone’s mood is full of joy and happiness but that doesn’t lasts long when Asad re-enters the life of Hajra, his former love.

+ High Points
i – Admirable effort on costume designing, it suited well with the characters.

ii – Hajra Yamin has once again gave a spectacular performance on-stage. She is a very good actress and often plays tragic romantic characters. Other Honorable Mentions: Hasan Khan, Shabana Hassan, and Samhan Qazi.

iii – Effective handling of the lighting gave the audience the understanding, of the different moods and beats to improvise the scenes.

iv – The musicians and songs conducted during the played an amazing role in bringing the play closer to the heart.

v – Great work on makeup & hair styling; the performers looked glamorous on-stage.

vi – The set design was carefully designed and constructed, in order for the performers and the musicians be viewed.

vii – The humor level was amusing but on some occasions.

viii – The characters of Ballu and Molvi were well written.

ix – Hasan’s directorial signature move can be seen in this play as well in compare to his previous play, Jaloos (2017). The set is decorated with bright lights, having many actors on stage dealing with a real life tragic issue.

+ Low Points
i – When the play started, the first thing came into my mind was watching a “Star Plus Saas-Bahu TV drama”.

ii – The play was targeted mainly for female oriented, whether it was intentionally or unintentionally been done but that’s how it looked. To decide whether this is good or not, we let that for the audience though the marketing campaign of the play didn’t give a clear picture of it before hand.

iii – At many places, the play became too much over dramatic, filled with loud shouts and cries. Yes, yes, I do understand that it is loosely based on a foreign tragic play and it was supposed to be sad but not this much.

iv – There were several times when the dialogue response were not properly completed before the other person starts to speak of their own.

v – Instead of looking at the play’s end to be emotional but I would rather consider as really disappointing. It’s not because of WHAT happens but HOW it is represented.

vi – Shabana’s sarcasm smile in the end looked as though we are watching a black comedy play.

vii – It’s high time now that Roohi and Asma should now be appearing in much bigger roles, even if they are supporting.

+ Overall
Bandhan has able to save its face value mainly because of technical and secondary reasons otherwise the main sequences were over dramatic and focusing it too much female oriented has ruined its chance to stand among the decent hit plays.

 
Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani Comic Thriller theatre play, ‘Spy Games’ (2017), The Production House is Black Box Productions.

+ Crew

• Directed by Ubaid Iqbal
• Written (Adapted) by Babar Jamal

+ Note
Originally it is written by Bettine Manktelow (author of Curtain Up on Murder and Murder Weekend).

+ Full Cast:

1. Nazar – ul – Hassan as Asim
2. Kashif Hussain as Humayun
3. Sehrish Qadeer as Tania
4. Syed Maha Ali as Mehreen
5. Saman Khan as Mahrukh
6. Zain Nazar as CEO
7. Aisha Iqbal as Rosy

+ Plot
Prospective contestants for a TV reality show gather in a Country House aiming to win a large cash prize, but only if they survive the rigors of the ultimate Spy games.

+ High Points
i – Nazar – ul – Hassan’s performance as Asim was hilarious. He is an excellent veteran actor whose performance most often is noticeable.
ii – Aisha Iqbal played the supporting role as Rosy was superb. She played out her role to its perfection. Other Honorable Mentions: Sehrish Qadeer and Zain Nazar.
iii – The playwright was adapted marvelously by Babar Jamal.
iv – The production design was well established.
v – The message of the play conveyed to audience and achieved its goal.
vi – The lighting was handled very efficiently.

+ Low Points
i – The play fell short of its fun moments and jokes.
ii – Although there were few big names in the star power nevertheless the performances were good, if not great.
iii – I did not liked its ending, although it suited the message wanted to deliver. Either an extended or an alternative ending would be more suitable.

+ Overall
Spy Games has not met its ‘Star Cast’ expectations, but it is still entertaining and fun.

Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani Comic theatre play, ‘Tarzan’ (2016). The project head is Daniah Naz while production assistant is Ahmad Baig. Its asst. directed by Urooj Alfred.

+ Crew

• Directed by Rauf Afridi
• Written by Unaiza Ali
• Set Designer is Javed Yusuf
• Backstage Manager is Taha Nadeem
• Lights & Costumes Designer is Uzma Sabeen

+ Note
Tarzan is a lost human infant who lived and grew up to be a strong, brave man with a pack of gorillas in the heart of the jungle. Originally created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan first appeared in the novel Tarzan of the Apes (magazine publication 1912, book publication 1914), and afterwards in twenty-five sequels, several official books by other authors, and countless works in other media, both authorized and unauthorized.

+ Full Cast:

1. Haris Khan as Tarzan
2. Ahmer Hussain as Modi / Lion
3. Rauf Afridi as Manku
4. Najma Kifayat as Gudgudi Jadugarni / Lioness / News Caster #1
5. Hammad Khan as Jin
6. Faryal Memon as Jane / Ms. Duck
7. Saddam Hussain as Jungli / News Caster #2
8. Unaiza Ali as Story Teller

+ Plot
Tarzan’s desperate help is needed in able to stop new threats to the kingdom of jungle that is Jin & Gudgudi Jadugarni who are responsible in kidnapping and eating the animals. Once Tarzan starts to investigate with his friend Manku, they come to realize who the real mastermind behind this mischief scheme.

+ High Points
i – Amazing performance by Hammad Khan as Jin. This performer demonstrates you how ‘Easy’ it is to perform on-stage (although it is not). In his previous play ‘Qissa Sotay Jaagtay Ka’, there also he performed brilliantly and here too, he clearly showed everyone that he is no less of a Great Performer. His consistent terrific performances had let the audience know well that (if not now but perhaps) very soon he would be given the lead character roles where the audience would be desperately waiting to see him perform.

ii – Rauf Afridi as Manku played the main supporting role superbly. His acting skills show you as to why the level of his performances is so good! After this performance, I feel the urge to see him more on-stage plays. Other Honorable Mentions: Ahmer Hussain and Najma Kifayat.

iii – The play started out well, while placing different animals within the audience or far from the stage and make small interactions with the children. This was continued throughout the play where the performers challenged or asked to the audience for their next move or to look for someone. This was a good decision by writer and director alike. Good Job!

iv – The flexibility, agility of the lead actor Haris Khan with his fitness and good performance clearly showed as to why he was chosen to play the role of ‘Tarzan’.

v – The art direction of the stage is definitely a high point to be mentioned here.

vi – The costumes of the characters were well made.

vii – By naming the villain as ‘Modi’, was a good humor for adults. And as for the children, the names as ‘Jin’ and ‘Gudgudi Jadugarni’ were perfect.

+ Low Points
i – Since this play surrounds the character Tarzan, then many of animals during the performance could had appeared or played a small role in it. I was actually expecting to see some if not many. Only couple of animals was shown during the play such as duck and lion. The team behind this play would probably defend themselves by saying ‘Well, the plot was based on Missing Animals’. Yes but this is the jungle where Many and Different types of animals live. And for children happiness at least, show some animals on stage (during the performance) to remind us that this is a jungle and not Karachi Zoo that we are looking at.

ii – If this play was a proper musical one, with several of songs & dances presented in it. I am pretty confident that this play would have met a much higher level of success.

iii – The character of ‘Modi’ was not fascinating enough as it was for the characters of ‘Jin’ and ‘Gudgudi Jadugarni’. These two characters had some special ability linked with them. Example: Jin had ability to become invisible on his will, Gudgudi Jadugarni had ability of using dark magic while Modi had ability to be strong enough to wrestle with Tarzan and had a very sharp, cunning mind. The character of Modi could have improved if he was given some special ability / power like other two villains.

iv – The characters of ‘Jungli’ and ‘Jane’ were mediocre written. The performers did not have much to perform.

v – My advise to the writer is to avoid using racial remarks / humor. Someone from the audience or media would surely be offended by it.

vi – Honestly I didn’t find the story of this play to be motivating to watch. I can understand that it was kept simple for children but even then the story didn’t pull the audience towards it. It was actual the basic theme behind this play that is ‘Tarzan living in the jungle and helping animals’.

vii – Since this play’s story differ almost entirely from the origin then a new title should be given instead of just ‘Tarzan’. Such as ‘Tarzan: Return of Modi’ or ‘Tarzan: Save the Missing Animals’ etc.

viii – The brochure and the poster of this play ‘Tarzan’ shows multiple animals on it such as crocodile, monkey, snake, owl etc. Kindly tell me, how many of these animals appeared during the play? How many of them? Perhaps two or three… Why other animals were not shown or performed in the play? Point to be noted here that this is a children’s play. Your target audience is children and then the adults / parents come. So, when you are marketing / advertising your play in print or digital media, show the same characters in the play as well.

The reason is that the children would be expecting them to be part of the play. Yes, it is a BIG Deal for the children. My suggestion is that show those characters in your product advertisement only which appear and perform in the play too. Example: Jin, Manku, Ms. Duck etc.

+ Overall
A sentimental tale which lacked many animal appearances and good humor. Still, Tarzan has talented cast to charm.

 
Rate: 3.25 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani Comedy theatre play, ‘Aasman Se Gira’ (2016) aka [Fallen from the Sky]. Its Asst. Director is Saddam Hussain.

+ Crew

• Directed by Uzma Sabeen
• Written (Adapted) by Babar Jamal

+ Note

Aasman Se Gira is an adaptation of Ken Ludwig’s English farce by the name of “Lend Me A Tenor”. During this play there is a scene where the get up & makeover of the two lead actors are almost identical. This hilarious moment reminded me of Hollywood’s classic comedy film of the golden era by the name of ‘Duck Soup’ (1933) of Marx Bros.

+ Cast

1. Saad Zameer Fareedi as Chauhan (aka Henry Saunders)
2. Ahmer Hussain as Shaani (aka Max)
3. Erum Ero as Maira (aka Maggie Saunders)
4. Farhan Alam as Alam Rushdi (aka Tito Merelli)
5. Naz as Khanam (aka Julia)
6. Najma Kifayat as Ronak (aka Diana)
7. Shumaila Taj as Mehrunnisa (aka Maria)
8. Muhammad Owais Mubashir as ‘Waiter’ (aka The Bellhop)

+ Plot

An event manager has to take a decision inviting a popular star to present himself as the traditional hero of the fame folk love songs “Heer Ranjha” for his grand show. As the show’s booking is already a ‘Sold Out’, the real trouble has just begun.

+ High Points

i – The real main ‘Stars’ of this play due to their memorable and untimely comic performances are Farhan Alam & Ahmer Hussain.

ii – Farhan’s character is totally new for me to watch as the characters this actor has usually played are mostly loud, dramatic and serious roles. However, this time his highly comical performance as the iconic character ‘Alam Rushdi’, he might be well remembered by this name rather than ‘Farhan Alam’.

iii – Good to see new faces to watch their performances such as Naz & Najma Kifayat.

iv – Phew! Need some cold breeze here… the seductive performance by the actress Najma Kifayat as ‘Ronak’ was “Hot as Hell”! Her performance reminded me of how Anne Bancroft tries to seduce Dustin Hoffman in Hollywood classic film ‘The Graduate’ (1967).

+ Low Points

i – Having so many good actors & actresses in one play, only the interesting, well written characters with their great performances would come out at the top while the rest of stars would be left behind.

ii – Some of the actors who were given smaller roles, they would be overshadowed and easily forgotten in front of Farhan Alam & Ahmer Hussain roles. Before picking up a good actor/actress for a small role, first write that role as ‘Interesting with humorous Punch Lines’, otherwise its a ‘Waste’ for the great performer to take that role. For instance, Akshay Kumar appeared as supportive role in the Bollywood film ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (1997). Some of the people don’t even remember him being part of this film. The reason is the same as above.

iii – This time the witty dialogues were less interesting than the previous play ‘Mere Samne Wali Kherki Meh’ which was written by Babar Jamal. Rather here in this play, the performances were more comical than the dialogues.

iv – It was nice to watch Erum Bashir perform on stage but her character did not do justice with the talented actress that she is.

v – All actors/actresses should follow the rule that your dramatic performances in comical situation would make the audience laugh instead of focusing on the hilarious punch lines that are given to you. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. It clearly shows on the performer’s face and action whether he/she focused on the emphasis of the punchline or on the performance according to the situation that he/she is present in.

+ Overall

The combined efforts of Uzma Sabeen & Babar Jamal, bring another wonderful comic play, Aasman Se Gira for the audience to enjoy.

Rate: 3.25 out of 5 stars