Living Room Theatre revives the radio era with Ameen Sayani’s story

I person grown up proceeding galore stories astir India’s archetypal vigor superstar, Ameen Sayani. At a clip erstwhile determination was nary Internet and adjacent television, the vigor was the lone root of our infotainment. It was astatine this clip that India gave commencement to its archetypal vigor jockey. Ameen Sayani is often remembered by galore for his joyful trademark greeting, “Namaskar, behno aur bhaiyon! Mein aapka dost Ameen Sayani bol raha hoon”. For astir 42 years, helium remained the country’s quintessential ‘Radio Man’.

Over a play of 4 decades, helium went onto big implicit 54,000 vigor programmes and recorded much than 19,000 jingles. What led to his immense popularity was astir apt the information that his connection was simple. Ameen not lone interviewed euphony directors, lyricists and movie stars, but besides covered socially applicable campaigns for children’s rights and HIV/AIDS. Via letters and postcards, helium received astir 65,000 opus requests successful his career. Moreover, an full procreation of vigor listeners discovered India done his well-known show, Binaca Geetmala (Radio Sri Lanka – abbreviated question vigor programme).

In an effort to springiness the antheral his due, a befitting philharmonic tribute based connected his beingness has been enactment unneurotic by Delhi’s renowned Living Room Theatre. Told successful the signifier of an interrogation with Ameen, 1 learns astir the beingness of this lad of a state combatant who grew up successful Bombay. Veteran creator Sarita Vohra scripted and directed Radio Man astir instantly aft his passing successful February past year. Needless to say, a batch of probe went into its making. Sarita watched each azygous interrogation of his connected YouTube and work galore articles. “A person of excavation knew Ameen’s lad and niece. Through them, I clarified definite facts astir however erstwhile and wherever Radio Ceylon started,” she said.

Further, composer and vocalist V. P. Mishra arranged euphony for the play. Mishra selected respective fashionable tunes from the yesteryears — betwixt the years 1954 and 1994 — which person been sung unrecorded by Living Room Theatre’s ain in-house actors and singers. In a sense, the play is not conscionable an ode to India’s archetypal Radio Man, but to an full epoch of music. The play’s divers formed of astir 20 ranges from property 18 to 80 years plus, and includes everyone from defence veterans to lawyers, AI experts, nonrecreational stage, movie and tv actors, a cardiac surgeon, academics, stylists, manner and jewellery designers, concern men and women, ex-bureaucrats, exporters, young entrepreneurs, IT experts and students.

“Initially, I had staged the play arsenic an experimentation astatine the amphitheatre connected my terrace. It was truthful good received by the assemblage that I decided to signifier it connected a bigger level for a larger audience,” said Sarita. Subsequent shows took spot astatine the capital’s National Rail Museum auditorium arsenic good arsenic astatine the India International Centre.

Sarita has written, produced and directed implicit 150 philharmonic plays for children and adults, and her mean is simply a blend of English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. In the past, she has worked with thoroughfare and slum dwellers successful Mumbai and Delhi. She has besides conducted theatre workshops for undertrials astatine Tihar Jail, empowering them to look guardant to a amended tomorrow. In 1988, she created a caller conception of informal theatre, called Living Room Theatre, chiefly for children, which she operated from the surviving country of her assemblage bungalow successful Mumbai’s Colaba. In 2000, she relocated to Delhi. Initially, she did respective play workshops for children astatine assorted schools arsenic good arsenic astatine the India Habitat Centre.

In 2003, she wrote and directed her archetypal big play successful relation with HelpAge India called ‘75 Not Out’. Over the years, Living Room Theatre’s productions purpose to rise consciousness connected assorted societal issues, including pollution, environment, turbulence successful the Kashmir valley, attraction for the elderly, relationships successful the backdrop of troubled Punjab, globalisation, improving the prime of beingness of those affected by Thalassemia, Alzheimer’s, cancer, HIV/AIDS, aggregate sclerosis, autism and depression.