Chowdiah Memorial will come alive with some stellar performances by Zila Khan, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Denzil Smith among others this Thursday. The play Gauhar is inspired by Vikram Sampath’s book The Life of Gauhar Jaan, is written by Mahesh Dattani and directed by Lillete Dubey. The story revolves around the famed classical superstars of the 20th century who were known to be independent, fiery and feisty women.
Theatre lovers will also get a peek into Allahabad, Benares, Lucknow and Kolkata in those days with live singers and musicians in this magnum opus production. Talking of how he got inspired to write the script of the play, writer Mahesh Dattani reveals, “Years ago, Vikram Sampath had gotten in touch with me to be a part of his book release.
The book was My Name is Gauhar Jaan! I fell in love with the biography the moment I read it. It is a thoroughly well-researched biography with details and cross references to the great singer and also to the history of the thumri. That made it easier for me to draw out from such a wealth of facts and apocryphal stories around Gauhar Jaan.
What was daunting to me was that I had to make choices. How is it possible to condense a real-life story that sweeps across decades to a two-hour drama? Also, how do I bring in dramatic energy of the period setting with nuggets of information on the changing musical tradition at that time? I obviously had to make choices. Choices that will attract the ire of many fans of the singer. But that is a risk one runs with any biography or adaptations from a book. Chances are people will say ‘The book was better!’ However, Lillete’s production adds a certain gravitas and grandeur to the telling of the story which makes it, undeniably an engaging piece of theatre – with some fabulous singing from Zila Khan and Rajeshwari Sachdev as a bonus!”
A pioneer of Sufi and thumri, Zila Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan’s daughter who essays the role of the older Gauhar states, “I was chosen as there aren’t many musicians who can act as well as sing classical music. That’s why even Sanjay Leela Bhansali picked me for Bajirao Mastani as the psyche and discipline that singers bring to the stage is very different. I feel I’ve brought a certain depth to the character during the later stage of Gauhar’s life, with the earlier stage being enacted by Rajeshwari. I’m known for my music and this is my forte. Her classical bandish is what Gauhar was famous for and I sing some of her famous compositions like Raske Bhare Tore Nain and Kaisi Ye Dhoom Machai. It brings to light the musician’s life and will be a delight for all music lovers.”
The force behind this powerful and moving play based on a person, who was an Indian classical music pioneer and a revelation for the younger generation is Lillete Dubey. Talking of the naturally gifted musician, Gauhar, the director states, “She was the first Indian voice to have recorded 600 records and her story is fascinating both on personal and professional levels. She was an enormously talented woman; she wanted it all, but paid a heavy price for it. Her incredible music lives on, that she composed herself and the 600 songs in 20 languages (where she had distilled the legacies of almost every gharana of her time with her thirst for learning) which she sung during her lifetime. We have picked her haunting songs which are frequently sung even today but without her name. I quote her in the play, ‘They know the song but they don’t know it’s my song!’ As a race we take our history, tradition and culture perpetually for granted. We don’t know much about so many amazing women in our history who broke their own glass ceilings and left behind legacies we are still building on.”
Gauhar will be staged at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on March 17 at 7.30 pm.
