'Loot' returns to Mumbai

About 15 years ago, when veteran Bollywood actor Amjad Khan ruled big on the Mumbai theatre stage, a lot of you might have queued to the Prithvi Theatre to catch him in action in his play Loot.

However, after his demise, the other members on his cast and crew felt the play had packed up. Now, after much contemplation, theatre director Imtiaz Khan — the elder brother of Amjad Khan — has decided to resurrect the play.

“I was looking for a play that suited the expenditure in my mind, where the cast was small and manageable. We were aiming to perform only at private events. While the original play was in English, I decided to translate it into a bilingual piece — in English and Hindi.” The director has made sure he breathed a fresh appeal into the play with quite a few changes. The original cast has been replaced with a new one. Imtiaz explains his decision,

“Even though the play is a comedy, the original actors were all veterans on the stage and maintained a serious and heavy demeanour. They were awe-inspiring. But today,  Amjad is no more and neither is one of our original actors,” says Imtiaz.

He is hoping that the play manages to rouse as much attention as it raised when his brother was still alive. Imtiaz admits that 15 years ago, it was a big play. After all, Amjad Khan was a big actor. Imtiaz says, “He was a star and the play had top notch actors in the cast. However, the new version will be fresh and for everyone.”

Will this time be different that his younger brother is no more around? Imtiaz shoots back, “Let’s not talk about that. It was a totally different thing. Sometimes, all those images run before my eyes. We had such wonderful shows at Prithvi.”

The cast for the play consists of fresh faces. However, we wonder why Amjad’s daughter Ahlam Khan wasn’t considered for the role of the female protagonist in the play. Imtiaz explains, “It is so encouraging to see Amjad’s daughter on the stage, today.

However, the lead protagonist in the play is a flirtatious, conniving and explosive young girl. Ahlam wouldn’t have suited the role.”