Feroz Abbas Khan’s Hind 1957 revisits the unhealed wounds of Partition

Expressing the unspoken, Feroz Abbas Khan’s Hind 1957 makes america bespeak connected humanity. Hind 1957, staged astatine the Bharat Rang Mahotsav, is astir a Muslim household that chooses to stay successful India post-Partition. It is simply a delicate and thoughtful Hindustani adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences (1985), by Vikas Bahari. The play transposes the 1950s African-American acquisition successful Pittsburgh to the Muslim communicative successful post-Partition India.

Spread implicit 2 acts, the play explores themes of patriarchy, prejudice, household secrets and the hostility betwixt a weary father’s cynicism and the optimisim of his sons for a amended future. The poignant communicative makes you realise that classics don’t age.

The cardinal character, Tabrez Ansari (evocatively portrayed by Sachin Khedekar), is simply a writer who participated successful the state movement. He is wrongfully imprisoned aft his begetter migrates to Pakistan. He is bushed of being repeatedly interrogated by the police, and works successful a bidi mill to support the location fires burning.

Charged arsenic a spy, Tabrez personifies the shattered dreams of a generation, poignantly captured towards the extremity done Abhishek Shukla’s verse, ‘Main ghar kahoon toh Hindustan samajh samjha jaye....’

Feroz Abbas Khan resists generalising the Muslim peeve oregon romanticising the laments of progressive writers. Tabrez is flawed successful his knowing of nine and family, and uses religion opportunistically. His poesy is progressive, but his behaviour wrong the 4 walls is acold from forward-looking. For him, drinking liquor is being liberal, but erstwhile it comes to infidelity, helium invokes the Shariat. He uses his brother’s pension to person a extortion implicit his family’s head.

Tabrez tries to walk connected his bitterness to his sons, who, successful a departure from the accepted depiction of Muslim families, clasp India with each its imperfections. They are not chained by their father’s fears. Latif takes to his father’s poetic bequest portion Kaif wears his emotion for the federation successful his service uniform. They judge their begetter volition get justness nether the Indian Constitution, and the writer rewards their patience and optimism. 

It is not a propaganda of hope, though. Within its layers, the play holds tales of mundane favoritism that proceed to bog america down arsenic a society. Over a shared solid of state liquor, Banwari (Dadhi R. Pandey), a adjacent person of Tabrez, talks of his symptom erstwhile helium is not allowed to interaction the bidis successful the mill due to the fact that helium is simply a Dalit. Perhaps, that’s wherefore Banwari understands Tabrez’s anguish astatine being othered contempt not pursuing his father’s footsteps to Pakistan.

Known for penning beardown pistillate characters, Feroz Abbas Khan takes a excavation astatine deep-seated patriarchal mores. Sachin’s understated yet almighty portrayal of the flawed patriarch binds the play together, but it is Sonal Jha who emerges arsenic its affectional fulcrum. As Razia, she confronts Tabrez erstwhile helium uses household responsibilities arsenic a screen for philandering. She says she has fixed arsenic overmuch to the household arsenic helium has, but she doesn’t person the enactment to turn bushed of the relationship. The affectional showdown betwixt Tabrez and Razia is the item of the play.

Feroz Abbas Khan makes generous abstraction for tragicomic sequences similar the 1 wherever Tabrez’s mentally impaired brother, Gulrez, turns up with a roseate for Razia successful the midst of a heated speech spurred by Tabrez’s admittance of an extramarital affair.

Feroz Abbas Khan uses Shukla’s shayari arsenic a taste span to convey longing, belonging and affectional depth, portion the affluent accumulation plan and lighting evoke a play successful which breached parapets suggest fractured bonds, leaving viewers reflective successful an affectional swell.

Hind 1957 volition beryllium staged connected February 21 and 22 astatine NMACC, Mumbai.