Dinesh Thakur’s ANK revives its classic production, with Keeya Khanna playing a role once essayed by Supriya Pathak
A scene from a previous adaptation of Beewion ka Madarssa
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It was after a staging of an Urdu adaptation of Moliere’s 14th century classic School for Wives at Prithvi Theatre that veteran actor Supriya Pathak found her first big break in Bollywood. She was recommended by the founder of Prithvi Theatre, Jennifer Kendal to Shyam Benegal for Kalyug (1981). The character she played was Husnara, the protagonist of Beewion ka Madarssa, who is brought up by a marriage-phobic old man. Having schooled her to be his perfect wife, he finds his masterpiece slipping away from his hands when Husnara falls in love with another. Slapstick, farce and a comedy of errors ensues, as you both laugh at and with the foibles of the old man.
Keeya Khanna
As one of the few Urdu comedies still getting staged in urban India, Beewion ka Madarssa should transport you back in time. This comedy, originally directed by Dinesh Thakur, has now found revival by theatre group ANK. It was staged first as part of Ananda Hindi Natya Utsav in April this year. This time, directed by Atul Mathur, it features actor Keeya Khanna as Husnara. Khanna, who has starred in Punjabi and Hindi films, says that Husnara is her way of coming out of the safe zone.
“I have to play the role of a girl younger than I am – I am not 16 of course! Moreover, I am used to playing the roles of bold Punjabi women, and Husnara is unlike them,” says Khanna, adding, “There is a difference between playing a dumb character and Husnara, who just happens to be naïve.”
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