After almost 47 years, 1169 shows and a million laughs later, the longest-running play in the history of Hindi theatre, Hai Mera Dil, has finally come to Bengaluru. ANK, a Mumbai-based theatre group, will stage their 1170th show this weekend.
In this play, Ranbir Singh, the writer of the play, has hilariously put forth the life of the hypochondriac husband, Madan played by Aman Gupta. Our hero is on a mission to find a new husband to care of his beloved wife after he dies of a terminal heart disease he is certain he has, but has no proof at all. The endearing wife, who is embodied by the actress Preeta Mathur, however, mistakes her husband's quest for infidelity! And thus, the carefully crafted comedic chaos ensues. The small cast of characters heighten the play by carrying out their role with the utmost excellence, the drunken friend of Madan is one of the audience's favourites for his impeccable and amusing dialogue delivery.
This brilliant play is a work of comedic fusion which ‘resonates with all audiences’ and was directed by Dinesh Thakur up till his death in 2012. Ever since, ANK has continued his legacy and staged Hai Mera Dil under the guidance of Preeta Mathur, who is running the group in place of her husband and is managing the production of the play.
Where all has the story of Hai Mera Dil been staged?
We’ve been able to travel a lot, so we created something called the Dinesh Thakur Memorial Festival. We used to go to cities like Bhopal, Dehradun, Ajmer, Jaipur and Jodhpur…mostly in the north. We used to collaborate with the theatre group of that particular city. But this is the first time we are coming to Bengaluru.
ANK is commemorating the 1170th show here, and that's a big number. What do you think is the reason why generations after generations of people come to watch the play?
Even now, families come with their children, and the husband will say that he watched this when he was their age. The play opened in 1978, and the problem at that time was that Hindi theatre was perceived to be very high-brow, very intense, serious and not fun at all. Then Bombay had a very strong concentration of Marathi speakers. So Dinesh Ji said that if there should be a play, it should be a fun play to get people inside the theatre first, and then you show them what you want to show them. Perhaps Hai Mera Dil is not a stylised comedy; it's almost like looking into your neighbour's drawing room for the audience. We’ve been performing for a very varied audience, like jawans and army generals, and we get the same kind of reaction from all audiences. It’s a play everyone can relate to, which is why I feel this has been running for so long.
Are there any particularly happy or sad memories the cast has of the play?
The one memory which is not a very happy one is when Dinesh ji was sick and in the hospital. The show had to go on and Aman Gupta had replaced him as the protagonist. After the first few scenes, when I went into change, I got a call to say that Dinesh ji had been rushed to the ICU. There was no way of knowing more and the show had to go on. It was the most difficult thing to do when we were dying inside to go out there and make everyone laugh. We had two shows that day and we completed both. The first thing Dinesh Ji said when I came to his side was, ‘How was the show?’.
After Dinesh Thakur’s unfortunate passing, what changed for ANK and the play?
So Dinesh Ji was not well for about four years before he passed away. So that time, I had to get into the nitty gritty of handling the theatre group. I decided that three things were important for me to do, which were to maintain the theatre group’s standard of performance. The second was to bring in exposure to different kinds of directors. And the third important thing I thought of is that the people part of the group should get a unique opportunity to grow. They should be given the kind of roles they’ve always dreamed of.
Because this is a comedy play, the audience tends to sideline the message behind all the humour. What is the lesson that you want people to take home with them from Hai Mera Dil?
There is no big message in here except that one should not get carried away by the little things of life. One time I had a very strange interaction with one of the audience members; she came up to me and said, 'This is not a comedy; it is a tragedy', as she too happened to be a hypochondriac like the protagonist. ‘So don’t get taken away by the negativity’ was the message she went with. So I think it's up to people to take what they want from the play.
INR 500. April 14, 7.30 pm. At Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar.
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