Ever since theatre ensemble Sifar’s birth in 2009, founder Feroze MNA realised the profundity of the Nayi Kahaani ( n e w s t o r y ) movement in Hindi literature and the late Nirmal Verma, its erudite representative and flagbearer. Feroze and director Junaid Ullah’s collaborative endeavour and impending production, Round and Round and Round will ingeniously transport us into the realm of a man’s unconsolidated existence, adapted to resonate with Emergency, an Indian political context.
Based on Verma’s short story, Dedh Inch Upar, Feroze's compelling Hindustani (Hindi/ Urdu language) monologue will revolve around an intoxicant man in a bar whose wife, an activist vanished during the politically turbulent Emergency era. The protagonist reflects on being unable to watch the then-banned politically charged 1975 film, Aandhi. Feroze will record tyranny jailing art and expression and how the common masses are affected by it.
Revealing how the monologue will unfold, he tells us, “My character is collateral damage. Junaid, who had a few ideas and wanted to explore newer angles to treat the story differently this time, will introduce the vexation the man transmitted in his relationship with his missing wife. There will be references to detention laws and Nasbandi (forced sterilisation) — his privileged disenchantment from and lack of awareness of the same until the police caught his wife for being an activist.” In a departure from his usual practice, Feroze will introduce fresh improvisations to the production.
As part of their unusual policy, Sifar has never requested audiences to switch off their cellphones before the show begins, and such incidents have never occurred in the past. That said, there still have been instances when the flow of the performance was disrupted by unsolicited cellphone usage. Acknowledging this possibility, Feroze will ingeniously weave it into the fabric of the interactive monologue. “I will astutely remark on the audience’s perceived disinterest, subtly questioning the genuine engagement. It will add a layer of spontaneity to the performance and provoke introspection on our behaviour and connection with the live theatre performances,” he adds.
`200. June 11. 8 pm. At Lamakaan, Banjara Hills