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V. Gangadhar

ANK, Mumbai's famous Hindi theatre group, bucks the trend with successful showings of its plays. It is currently celebrating its 29th year in the show business.

A still from ANK's production, Jis Lahore Nahin Dekhaya.

October is tense for Dinesh Thakur, Mumbai's veteran Hindi theatre personality. It is the anniversary, festival time for ANK — Mumbai's most famous Hindi theatre group, which completes 29 years this month. Apart from staging popular plays from stock, Thakur had to work on and stage a new play too.

"It has become a routine," shrugs the well-built Thakur, who has not allowed the triple responsibilities of producer, director and actor to faze him. ANK's anniversary week is a much awaited theatre event in the city. Mumbai has not been kind to Hindi theatre, with the money going to Gujarati plays and private sponsorship of English theatre. "Sometimes, we do feel like orphans," admits Thakur. "While third-rate English productions readily obtain sponsors, even the best Hindi plays have to fend for themselves."

Under such circumstances, ANK has done remarkably well. As many as 70 plays, 5,500 shows — with Hai Mera Dil approaching the 1,000 mark — a record number of continuous shows at Mumbai's Prithvi theatre and an amazing variety of socially relevant plays, farce, comedy, adaptations, and historical and topical satire.

Take the case of ANK's 2003 production Jis Lahore Nahin Dekhaya that dealt with the trauma of Partition and the resolve of an old Hindu woman not to leave her beloved Lahore and migrate to India. The play received rave reviews, with viewers rushing backstage to congratulate the cast and request that the play be performed all over India, particularly in small towns and villages.

"The play is not about opening old wounds," says Thakur, "it actually provides the healing touch by focussing on the courage of the old woman, who decides to stay back in Lahore." But Thakur is disturbed at the growing communal divide in the country and holds sections of the media responsible for the bitterness and rift between Hindus and Muslims. "TV shows and the media often highlight useless, trivial incidents and personalities whose views can only help inflame communal passion," he says. Under such circumstances, theatre hasa moral responsibility to expose such elements and provide a healing touch.

Lahore proved that Muslim fanaticism was as bad as the Hindu variety and that is why Thakur is keen that it should be staged in Pakistan. He is also concerned about the media's growing obsession with the Page 3 culture and its focus on rich and glamorous personalities who are mostly non-achievers. ANK's 2004 offering is Chavi, a spoof on the Page 3 culture.

Another notable effort of ANK is to popularise the plays of Vijay Tendulkar, who was honoured as the Playwright of the Millennium. In every seminar/discussion organised by the group, Tendulkar's contribution is widely discussed and the troupe performed his plays — Anji, Khamosh Adalat Jari Hain and Kamala, among others. "We are proud to be associated with such a great playwright," says Thakur. He is also full of praise for the late Jennifer Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor for their support to ANK. "That is why there is a bond between us. Our Hai Mera Dil was the first ticketed show to have achieved the `House Full' status. It was a thrilling moment for us but there was some tension because we did not have the `House Full' board ready!"

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