Banned Pakistani play draws full house in Capital

PINCH OF PAK: It's a satire on the moral police who micromanage little things only to shut their eyes to the bigger picture.

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New Delhi: Amongst the 76 productions that are a part of the ongoing jubilee festival at National School of Drama (NSD) was Burqavaganza, a play that was banned in its native Pakistan last March.

The head of Ajoka theatre group to which the play belongs states that the ban came as quite a surprise.

“It’s not surprising as far the people who asked for the ban is concerned, lady members of the Parliament of Jamaat-e-Islami. What was surprising is that the Government upheld the ban which is contradictory to what they are professing,” said Madeeha Gauhar, head of Ajoka Theatre Group.

A nationwide ban in Pakistan guaranteed that Burqavaganza was received with a houseful response in the Capital where it was staged on Saturday.

Also present for the show was veteran actor Zohra Sehgal who liked the play. "It was very clever,” she said.

In others' estimation, however, the play seriously fell short. “It was more of a street play. The content was good but from the dramatic point of view, it was disastrous,” said an audience member.

A satire on the moral or burqa police who micromanage little things only to shut their eyes to the bigger picture, the play had to be viewed from the right point of view according to the director.

“If you look at it as a play from Pakistan which is primarily meant for a Pakistani society,” said the director, Shahid Nadeem.

Well, in the end, guess everything is not in the name after all.