When slapstick humour and lofty ideals go hand in hand

The Karachi Arts Council auditorium was the venue of a highly entertaining play by the Islamabad-based theatre group, the Insane, even though there was absolutely nothing insane about the performance. It was, through some very humorous acts and oozing witticisms, a portrayal of a very profound theme, namely, patriotism.

The play etitled ‘Sir Kalam’ depicts an award-winning playwright, who has been entrapped by the ratings phenomenon that seems to be the fad these days and is considered a shortcut o success and monetary bonanza. This phenomenon always affects journalistic ethics and morality.

Mansoor Kalam, the playwright (adroitly played by Saiban Khaliq), is paid to write plays that embody the commercialism synonymous with Bollywood  commercials and wants to take the short route to money and fame.

Only after some time do the purpose and the theme of the play begin to unfold themselves.

It is just gradually that the play veers towards the theme that is its goal, the goal being the pernicious nature of the phenomenon of terrorism and the hazards of religious and sectarian hatred.

A certain Captain Ehtasham who is involved in the fight against the terrorists is cited to have opened up schools in Waziristan for the children of the disturbed area, thus testifying to the highly noble and idealisticnature of our fighting men.

Then at another juncture, Captain Ehtasham sermonises on the virtues of brotherhood and religious tolerance.

However, despite the profound theme, the play proceeds in the same direction, punctuated with slapstick humour. There are interesting daily life situation, for instance where one of the young male characters falls in love with his brother’s wife, who is temporarily away and tries to seduce her. The scene takes a very humorous turn as the young man repents and confesses his impropriety to his brother.

The latter half of the play assumes a more sedate turn and the denouement comes when the image of the Quaid-e-Azam appears and seems to be really sad at the turn of events in a homeland for the Muslims for which he had a lofty vision. He regrets the divisiveness, the bickering and the bloodshed that has become a daily feature of life in the country, and says that he had never foreseen this kind of a thing for the homeland he was bequeathing the Muslims. He says he had planned the country to be a welfare state where people of all religions, all classes, the rich, the poor, would live side by side in harmony.

The best thing about the play was that it was bilingual because, whether we like it or not, English is as much our language today as it is of the British, at least in the urban centres. For instance, the monologues of the image of the Quaid were all in English.

The play was a very subtle and profound mix of humour and a very lofty and serious theme.

Besides, there were some theatrical innovations, for example where the play is dominated by the playwright who is seated in front of the stage and the scenes are punctuated with the dialogues between him and his manager, Imtiaz.