Tribute to Theatre Matriarch Begum Razia Baig in Hyderabad

From works of Tamil poet Subramania Bharati to Norwegian playwright Ibsen, Urdu poet SardarJafferi to Marathi lyricist Bal Kolhatkar, Hindi dramatist Vijay Tendulkar to Telugu playwright Yandamoori, the country’s performing arts fraternity gets together this Saturday, June 1st 2024 to pay their respects to theatre matriarch Begum Razia Baig who passed away recently.

Renowned singer, stage and bollywood actress Ila Arun, theatre and cinema thespian Mohan Agashe, danseuse Vani Ganapathy, stage and television actress Rashmi Seth, national award-winning actress Mita Vasisht (back from Cannes with her film ‘The Shameless’), local Telugu actor-director Sreedhar Beecharaju are scheduled to present their brief performances on stage at Radisson Blu Plaza, Banjara Hills in an hour-long evening.

Other eminent names speaking on the occasion are former Minister Dr. J. Geetha Reddy, senior Bureaucrat Jayesh Ranjan, MLC Amer Ali Khan. Nivedita Baunthiyal, Vice-President of IPTA Mumbai, one of India’s foremost theatre groups says, “Begum Razia Baig has been in the forefront patronizing and energizing theatre artistes around the country and overseas. Her dedication to the art form, specially with her Foundation and the annual Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival was truly inspirational”.

Juhi Babbar, actress and director of Ekjute Theatre observed, “She embodied grace and commitment, epitomized Hyderabadi tehzeeb and proved that one need not be flamboyant to leave a profound impact as an artiste. Hyderabad lost a true theatre icon and it is befitting that we pay her this homage”

“This evening of theatre, poetry, prose, dance and classical music shall serve as an apt salutation to the matriarch known globally for her heritage and socially-meaningful plays in Hindustani since 1970s”, says veteran actress Rashmi Seth of Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation.