Theatrical tribute

Every year, national theatre luminaries come to Hyderabad to pay tribute to theatre doyen late Qadir Ali Baig. This year, his 33rd anniversary of demise was commemorated in town over two weekends. The Falaknuma Palace hosted the globally-celebrated play ‘Quli: Dilon ka Shahzaada’.

The resplendent Durbar Hall of the Falaknuma Palace witnessed an overflowing audience turnout. The packed venue was filled with audience, some of them watching the city’s beloved play for the multiple time, seated baithak-style on the floor.

Truly a unique theatre-watching experience. Mohammad Ali Baig as the dashing Quli once again was powerful and emotive while Noor Baig as his love interest Bhagmati charmed with her delivery and nuances. Veteran actors Vijay Prasad and Rashmi Seth made impressive cameos. Qawwals led by KhadeerAyyazi and a kathak piece by Kavita Golechha etched the love-legend.

The following weekend saw Mumbai-based Denzil Smith and Sharon Prabhakar. Denzil Smith, who just finished playing Jinnah in Gurinder Chadha’s Hollywood film ‘The Viceroy House’, stunned audiences with his portrayal of an aged unsung jazz musician with Rhys Sebastian D’Souza flooring the audience with live saxophone in the Ramu Ramanathan-written ‘Bombay Jazz’.

Yesteryear pop diva and actress stole hearts with her memoir-based musical ‘That’s Life!’ that featured beautiful renditions of her hit songs from her popular musicals ‘Evita’ and ‘Cabaret’, which were a rage in the ‘80s. All gathered remembered the icon Qadir Ali Baig whose historical pageants at forts and palaces set a trend in the country.

Deservingly, the full house Hyderabadi audience on all three evenings gave the thunderbolt performances standing ovations. As Sharon Prabhakar rightly noted on stage, “We actors are nothing without the audience. A lesson learnt in life during ‘Cabaret’ was that you should never take audiences for granted”.