Written by: Farheen Abdullah
Posted on: July 02, 2018 | 
| 中文
Sabiha Zia as Heer and Umair Rafiq as Ranjha
First narrated in 1766, the classic of Heer Ranjha remains a famous love story till present day. Heer and Ranjha, lovers from the two warring villages of Jhang and Hazara, happen to meet at a wedding and fall in love, after which the latter disguises himself as a cow-herd to stay close to his beloved. When their love is discovered by the villagers, they are separated. Heer’s evil uncle, Qaido, is especially adamant on separating the two and destroying all chances of their union. The story of their reunion and eventual demise has been adapted by several directors and producers over the decades, such as Ahmad Rahi’s screenplay (1970) and Shahid Zahoor’s PTV drama (2013).
However, theatre has remained the most common platform for the revival of Heer Ranjha, with recent performances including one in Lahore in December 2016, and one during the Sindh Theatre Festival Karachi in April 2017. The last adaptation starring Sanam Saeed and Hasan Raza, was performed at Arts Council Karachi, which is now hosting Green Eye Production’s take on the classic, titled ‘Daastan-e-Ishq.’ Green Eye Production is an entertainment house for theatre, film and television, which aims to revitalize the dramatic culture while making its audience more familiar with various art forms.
Sadly, Daastan-e-Ishq turned out to be a tragedy in more than one way. Starting from the stuffy environment of the packed Arts Council auditorium, which left the audience fanning themselves with pamphlets, to the poor direction and lack of creativity within the play, the performance was a disappointing adaptation of a folktale.
The first thing that caught the audience’s eye was the bland set. It consisted of two simple houses situated at opposite ends of the stage, with doors for entry and exit from the stage, but dominated by a panaflex in the centre which showed an open field. Furthermore, a white sheet had been spread all over the stage floor, which made quite a few actors slip during quick movements.
While Kaifi Azmi’s script is decidedly well-written, Zarqa Naz, the director, failed to add appropriate intensity and emotion to the way the dialogues were being delivered. For instance, Ranjha’s (Umair Rafiq) monologues expressing his love for Heer (Sabiha Zia), eventually became too long and repetitive for the audience to empathise with. Quite often, entire scenes would feel dragged out, adding no value to the plot progression; such as the recurring luddi performances, which barely contributed towards the play qualifying as a musical.
From among the actors, Sabiha Zia as Heer didn’t immediately stand out as the lead actress, but eventually grew on the audience. She effectively conveyed her emotions of anger, love and helplessness. Umair Rafiq as Ranjha wasn’t remarkable, and unfortunately several of his dialogues seemed monotonously delivered. Perhaps the saving grace of the acting team came in the form of Sameer Hussain as Qaidu and Akbar Ladhani as Raavi, the narrator. They were both well suited to their roles and captivated the audience each time they took to the stage.
Unfortunately, the musical team also struggled to maintain harmony. While the sight of a traditional dhol immediately excited the audience, it wasn’t utilized enough. Anil Tahir and Rida provided strong vocals, but the errors of the flutist were quite distracting. Viewers situated at the right side of the auditorium could see the conductor struggling to keep the musicians in sync and adhere to his queues. Additionally, while Ranjha’s character is quite famous for his flute, Umair Rafiq only had one brief moment throughout the play in which he was seen playing the flute.
Another major blunder came in the form of Ranjha’s appearance remaining the same, even when he disguised himself as a cow-herd. Somehow, the presence of a simple black cloak which didn’t even cover his face, was enough to trick Heer into not recognizing him. Moreover, the couple had a few intimate moments on stage which were slightly inappropriate and simply not required, considering local context.
Overall, the play appeared to be an amateur piece of work, which could be improved with a little more creativity, better direction, and greater attention to detail. The performances will continue at the Arts Council till 8th July, and hopefully the team will work on the details and improve with each performance.
All images provided by STARLINKS and Dhanak Entertainment.
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