If there are two literary artistes whose works have generated a lot of interest in the past few years, it’s writer Saadat Hasan Manto and poet and Sufi mystic, Rumi. But what if the two were to bump into each other in today’s world? What would their conversation be like? Would they be amused, sad or angry at the state of affairs?
IDEA BEHIND THE PLAY
That is the thought behind Rumi Aur Manto, Ambal’s new play, which will be a solo act performed by actor Mohit Sharma, who has also written and directed the play. “In the last 20 years, Rumi and Manto have become very popular. Suddenly, they are like literary pop icons. Leave alone their popularity on social media, especially Rumi’s, they are part of all art discussions and gatherings,” he says. The actor, who also performs
Manto’s play Toba Tek Singh, says during the journey of his 59 shows, has seen the popularity of the playwright and author across cities. “What if Rumi and Manto were to visit this world one fine day? How would they react to this fame and euphoria? That was the germ of the idea that kept tickling my grey cells,” he says.
THE MAKING
The play is in the form of satire. “Humour is very much a part of it, since both the greats had it in abundance. The play is about all of us, the urbane Indians, the way we are currently. If during the performance, the audience looks amused, smiles, laughs and attempts to hide its faces, I would be happy,” he adds. Talking about the process of creating the play, Sharma says that while he had already read a lot about Manto, he had to do a lot of research on Rumi. Half-a-dozen drafts followed by dramatic readings later, they began the process of readying for the performance. “The process of performance was to let Rumi and Manto have a heart-to-heart conversation about their stories, poetry and the world. I had to get their essence right, through voice, body language etc. While Rumi here is simple and stylised, Manto is more day-to-day conversationalist,” says the actor.
While playing 19 characters for the solo act of TTS did make it more comforting for Sharma to essay the roles of Rumi and Manto here, it did not necessarily make it easier. “In TTS, all characters are fictitious, unlike in RaM, where I’m trying to portray two icons who walked this earth and continue to impact our lives. Having said that, RaM is about capturing their spirit and not at all a replication of their physicality,” says Sharma.
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 "Rumi Aur Manto")
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