Nandini Trivedi, producer of PARCHHAIYAN talks to Mumbai Theatre Guide about her play, which is based on the life of the revolutionary and romantic poet Sahir Ludhianvi. Nandini is a journalist, associated with the Gujarati newspaper Mumbai Samachar. She is a Features writer and a columnist and has also written three books on Indian music.
Deepa Punjani
Deepa Punjani (DP): How did the idea for this play emerge?
Nandini Trivedi (NT): I am passionate about music and theatre. I like to do shows with different concepts. Last year I came up with Raga Reflections, a musical show which was a combination of classical ragas and semi-classical, old and new film songs. That concert was much appreciated. After that, I wanted to venture into theatre and thought of doing a musical play on Sahir Ludhianvi. There have been plays on poets like Ghalib and Kaifi in the past. So I thought why not Sahir? He has given so many extraordinary songs to the Hindi film industry.
DP: Which is your best moment in the play?
NT: When this song plays:
In kali sadiyon ke sar se, jab raat ka anchal dhalkega jab dukh ke badal pighalenge, jab sukh ka sagar jhalkega
jab ambar jhum ke nachega, jab dharati nagme gayegi
Wo subah kabhi to ayegi
Wo subah hami se ayegi
In 1958, Sahir wrote the lyrics for Ramesh Saigal's film Phir Subah Hogi, which was based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. Sahir insisted that only someone who had read the novel could provide the right music score. Thus, Khayyam ended up as the music composer for the film, and the song Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi with minimal background music was written. It remains an all-time hit. This poetry conveys a very positive message that is relevant even today. Sahir saab's pen was, at its best, writing sensitive lyrics about the declining values in our society, the senselessness of war and politics, and the domination of materialism over love.
DP: How did you go about your research for this play? What sources have you relied upon?
NT: I've read Sahir's poetry a lot and I love his film songs. He was a poet with a magic touch. I found out about him from his books and through other sources like newsletters and articles. I also learnt about the various aspects of his personalities by talking to some of his contemporaries. Then I shared my views with our writer Suhail Akhtar Warsi and he wrote the play.
DP: Why did you think about including dances in the production? Would that not distract from the poetry?
NT: Not at all. Actually, the dances are enhancing the production value of the play as they are not based on Sahir saab's shayari but on the songs he wrote for films. The dramatic value of the play is very much intact. We have taken few lines of his popular songs like Laga chunari mein daag, Abhi na jao chhodakar, and others. Since we are showing Sahir contribution to our films, I thought it was important to showcase the dances of those times as well.