Theatre is a passion for Salim Arif

THE KIND of vitality which has come up in Hindi and English theatre in Mumbai in the last few years is largely because very few theatre practitioners are depending on theatre for their survival."
That might sound like a contradiction, but this sure is incontrovertible that the best theatre one can see these days in Hyderabad comes from outside, from Mumbai largely. And while we lament this state of affairs, it is worth a look how `they' manage to keep their head high up there.
Salim Arif, theatre teacher, director and reputed art director, is familiar with the theatre scene all over the country. In town, last month, for the first performance outside Mumbai of Rakesh Bedi's comedy Biwi O Biwi in which he plays the role of a male chauvinist husband, he spoke at length on the problems being faced by theatre in the country.
"You will be surprised to know the kinds of themes that have been tackled in Bombay theatre in the last four or five years. Chetan Datar's Mata Hidimba or Vikram Kapadia's Black with Equal or Rahul Da Cunha's or Atul Kumar's work — it has been such a wide spectrum, that one can safely say that the best theatre today is happening in Mumbai," he says.
It is as if a small bunch of creative people dug in their heels and have defiantly decided to give their best to it. Salim, too, has contributed to this sudden vigour in theatre in a small way by developing new types of contents. His Ghalibnama is a combination of Ghalib's letters and poems presented artfully on stage. Kharaashein, a highly appreciated show, is a combination of poems and stories of Gulzar on the theme of recurrence of communal riots. Presenting poets and writers in a theatrical form which is much more than mere reading or musical rendition has become Arif's speciality.
Arif has been into films and television also. "My TV serial called Daaman — a contemporary Muslim social was on Sahara till last year and quite popular. I have done Saath-Saath, Natkhat Rani and episodes of Rishte and Fauji as director. In fact, I have shot two episodes of the `Saughat'— the Idd episode of Zee's Rishte (1999) and one more episode at Siasat Kothi, Masab Tank and such places. So, I have a very special bonding with Hyderabad. I love the city."
After passing out from the National School of Drama in Delhi with specialisation in direction and designing, he did a lot of workshops all over the country. "It allowed me to work with the likes of Habib Tanvir, B.V. Karanth, Ratan Thiyam and K.N. Panikkar, and understand traditional Indian Theatre," he says.
His break into television came with Shyam Benegal's celebrated Bharat Ek Khoj. "Shyam was looking for someone to do the research and the design for the costumes and make-up. So, I did the entire series as a designer. Nitish Roy was the other designer. And then, I did Chanakya, the film Sardar, Mirza Ghalib, the serial, and then Chandrakanta, and then I branched off into direction in television."
After having worked for such high quality productions, Salim is plainly disappointed with the present situation. "By the time my turn came, the big budgets ran out for the kind of inputs required for such productions. And the sad part is that the channels were also not keen on getting authentic work. That's where, I think, we all suffered."

"Today, I feel it is impossible, certainly very difficult to make serials like Tamas, Bharat Ek Khoj, Chanakya — they were high-price serials then also. The kind of money they spent on Ghalib is the maximum you can get today, and that too when costs have gone up five times. I was fortunate to have been part of this path-breaking work on Indian Television. Today's films allow that kind of budgeting, but I am not part of the scenario because I do not enjoy the present cavalier attitude toward authenticity. It's all glamour and beauty oriented."
Including, say, Devdas?
"Yes, Devdas too. I see no reason why we should do that kind of kitschy work. Or, for that matter Asoka. I think that there is this very stupid feeling among people that authenticity can only be boring. They should probably see the best of Hollywood, for inspiration!"
Nor is Salim too keen on television work these days. His teaching assignments and theatre work, mainly with I.P.T.A., Mumbai, keep him going. Although support for meaningful theatre is shrinking everywhere, Salim is quite confident it will be able to adapt and develop suitable strategies to sustain itself even if on the margins.
"Unfortunately, not many people want to see a serious play at the end of the day. I don't blame the audience because it's difficult for them to tax their mind and get to see a problem play on an evening. People are willing to pay to laugh, because it's becoming extinct in our lives. We have stopped laughing at ourselves and in working situations. If theatre has to play that role, we will have to go with it to some extent at least. And I think theatre is the only alternative to the kind of farce that media is projecting onto the Indian masses."
"We still try to convey something serious even through our comedies. Like, Taj Mahal Ka Tender. It's like an R.K. Laxman cartoon — a satire on the bureaucracy and the prevalent corruption. The basic theme is that had Shah Jahan wanted to build Taj Mahal today, what the bureaucracy and the system would have done to it! It's amazing, this play (written in 1997) has been so prophetic, today we can't think of doing it in U.P. because bureaucrats fear that it's too close to contemporary reality. So, nobody would give it permission," he chuckles.
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"We don't do plays to make money. Our plays have an inherent message," As Salim Arif puts it, "To be a successful theatre artiste today, the attitude has to be professional, because anything less than that would not be worthwhile. But the market forces should not be allowed to dictate what you play. You need that kind of creative freedom.
"It's a kind of liberation he needs to achieve in the first instance. I'll give you a fine example. Naseeruddin Shah play on stage a tribute to Ismat Chugtai, Ismat Apa Ke Naam. Now it is possible only because Naseer is totally independent of market forces, he is getting sufficient money out of his film assignments. He doesn't accept one bit of sponsorship! Same with us too. We make money there — in television and films — and do theatre practically for free."
SUMANASPATI