Question: 'Zara English mein translate kar ke batao, 'Kia mein jaa rahi hoon?'
Answer: 'Are me going.'

'Magar hamaray mulk mein toh army siraf aati hai, jaati nahin.'

Thus proceeds Anwar Maqsood's latest script for stage, a remake of his magnum opus from the early '80's, Aangan Terrha. Peppered with witticisms, tongue-in-cheek humour, political jibes and hysterically funny moments, this play is quintessential Anwer Maqsood. This is how theatre should be in Pakistan; replete with great performances and emulating Pakistani culture with a strong, original script. Last year, Dawar Mahmood and his team at KopyKats Production presented Maqsood's first-ever script for theatre, the poignant, satirical masterpiece, Pawnay 14 August. Now, they have come together again for Aangan Terrha and set the bar higher for theatre. Citing his reason for recreating Aangan Terrha for the stage, Maqsood explains, “Aangan 1983 mein bhi terrha tha or 2013 mein bhe terrha hai!”

Of course, Anwar Maqsood has been committed to rectifying the country's 'terrha aangan' for a long time now. Clever, candid satire has always been his forte and he's never been afraid to state the truth, from the days when his shows would get censored and shut down when aired on the country's solitary channel, PTV, till now, when his Aangan Terrha is being performed to packed theatres. Time hasn't worn him down and his dialogues are still a delicious medley of wordplay and sharp satire.

When the frustrated wife in Aangan Terrha, Jehan Ara Begum, complains of her strained finances and says that she should have married a DSP instead, her servant, Akbar tells her, “Aap ke ghar ke andar chaar garyaan hoti magar DSP bhi andar hota (in jail).” Or when the husband, Mehboob, begins to make eyes at his neighbour's divorced sister, Akbar comments, “Sahab, aap farishta hain. Begum sahiba keh rahi hain aap ke parr nikal aaye hain.” It's a Pakistani script to the core, poking fun at elements of our culture; a strong sense of patriotism often thinly veiled beneath the intelligent, pointed jokes. In the words of the highly entertaining Akbar, as he tells the tale of a chicken that he had wanted to cook but which had ran away to befriend the neighborhood dog, “Jis mulk ke murghay badmaash ho jayein, uss mulk ka kya bharosa?” This is what makes Anwar Maqsood one of the country's best-loved scriptwriters and satirists. 

One of the best scripts he has written, to date, is that of the original Aangan Terrha. The drama is a sharp-witted portrayal of the life of an honest but poor civil servant, Mehboob Ahmed, his irritable, tight-fisted wife, Jehan Ara Begum and their effeminate, cheeky servant Akbar - a classical dancer who, since the drama was aired during General Zia's time, has had no option but to resort to domestic servitude. The rambunctious Chaudhry Sahab and his divorced sister, Hamsheera Sultana are the neighbors who keep popping into the house. The plot thickens as Mehboob Ahmed decides to rent out a room in his house, inviting in a slew of entertaining characters one after the other. The original cast included Shakil, Bushra Ansari, Salim Nasir, Durdana Butt, Arshad Mehmood and Moin Akhtar, Qazi Wajid, Lehri and Alamgir in guest appearances. No flashy sets, designer wardrobes or musical interludes whatsoever - what made Aangan Terrha an all-time classic was a remarkable script enacted by the country's finest actors. To summarize such a drama for the stage is a tricky business and one that only Anwar Maqsood could have achieved.

“Yeh kaam toh buss ek aag ka darya tha,” confesses Maqsood. “Dawar Mahmood, the director of the play, insisted that he wanted to stage Aangan Terrha. I told him that it would be very difficult to condense an entire drama serial into a 90-minute play but Dawar persisted. He and his troupe at KopyKats Productions made me sit down for half an hour and enacted bits and parts of Aangan Terrha for me. They knew all the dialogues! I have written this play for them and although I had my apprehensions, I am now happy with the way they have presented it on stage.”

It's impressive how Dawar and his cast of mostly Islamabad-based actors have carried the script. The acting is spot-on, the dialogues delivered just right, and close your eyes and you may just think that you're listening to bits of the original.  Yasir Hussain, especially, as the impudent Akbar is spectacular. He cavorts about the stage in a dancer-like gait, delivers caustic one-liners in a decidedly effeminate tone and steals the show with his gestures. His banter with the irate Jehan Ara Begum is especially entertaining. When she complains about the potatoes he has brought from the market, he explains, “Pakistan achhay aaloo sub export kar deta hai, aur unn ke badlay mein chips import karta hai”. Or, commenting on the lack of sugar in the poverty-stricken household, he says, “Iss ghar mein dhoondnay say khuda toh mil jayega magar cheeni nahin millay gi”. When the childless Mehboob Ahmed and the unmarried Chaudhary sahab are discussing politics and one of them says, “Sawal hee paida nahin hota,” it is Akbar that chimes in, “Aap donon ke ghar mein siraf sawal hee paida ho sakta hai”. In yet another political discussion, he advises Chaudhary sahab to join a particular political party, observing that, “Yeh waqt se zyada khauf ka taqaza hai”.  He renames Mehboob Ahmed's least favorite food, yeendon ki tarkari, teendon ki pudding; quickly cooks chicken pulao when the neighborhood hen accidentally jumps into the house and tricks the hapless Chaudhary time and again into getting groceries for the house. The merriment goes on and on. I remember how I used to wait for Salim Nasir's dialogues when I watched the original play. In the theatrical version, Yasir Hussain steps into Akbar's shoes with the same finesse.

Khalifa Sajeeruddin, similarly, is endearing as the trusting Chaudhary sahab, befuddled by the sharp Akbar, ruled by his stomach and intent on quoting Ghalib incorrectly. Talat Jilani and Harem Farooq are convincing as Mehboob Ahmed and Jehan Ara respectively and even the smaller side-roles - of a ghazal singer, a journalist, a talk-show host, a poet and Hamsheera Sultana, among others - are acted out effectively. The stage is set with a gramophone standing in the center, basic furniture and a pigeon coop with live pigeons set up at a slightly elevated level. Incidentally, Mehboob Ahmed often climbs up the coop to spend time with his pigeons. One of them is called 'Sultana' and when he calls out to her ('Sultana aa aa') it has the neighborhood Sultana rushing forth to his house! Hilarious! 

Even the music that plays before the show begins is the same that was used in the opening credits of the original. It is obvious that staging Aangan Terrha has been a labour of love for Dawar and his entourage. In fact, Dawar had long dreamt of bringing the play to stage. “Seven years ago, when I was directing plays in my home-city, Islamabad, I would joke to my friends that one day I would stage Aangan Terrha,” he remembers. “When I came to Karachi, I went to meet Anwar Maqsood with the express intent of asking him to create a stage script of this drama for me. Instead, he read out the script of Pawnay 14 August. It was a fabulous script and after we had proved that we were truly dedicated to staging it properly, he allowed us to enact it last year. The play was, thankfully, a huge hit. Earlier in Islamabad, I had directed plays where everybody would come with passes and absolutely nobody wanted to pay for the ticket. Now, with Pawnay 14 August, I had audiences buying tickets in droves and filling up the hall daily. I see the same happening with Aangan Terrha - we're booked solid for 70 shows already!”

But while the direction, acting and overall presentation of Aangan Terrha may be impeccable, there's no doubt that the real star of the play is the script itself. For fans of the original, the theatrical version is a nostalgic throwback. The scenes may have been summarized but most of the best dialogues have been repeated. Still, that doesn't make the play boring in any way - you can't go wrong with timeless dialogues like “mulazimat ke dairay mein raho” or “iss ghusal khanay mein kya paani aata hai? nahin iss mein siraf ghussa aata hai”.

For people who are watching the play for the first time, Aangan Terrha is a socio-political laugh-a-minute experience, much like most of Anwar Maqsood's work. As in the case of Pawnay 14 August, the audience filling up the theatre for Aangan Terrha includes a mix of families, grandparents and young teenagers - unlike the predominantly young audience that I have observed at most other plays. There's enough slapstick in Aangan Terrha to make the youngest, least discerning spectator laugh; and enough nuances in the script to appeal to older, more perceptive minds. Something for everybody.

Next up is a stage remake of yet another Anwar Maqsood drama, Half Plate. Shahid Shafaat is supposed to be directing it with Sania Saeed playing the female lead that was originally acted out by Khalida Riyasat. “I have gotten tired of television, with one drama resembling the other and lackluster scripts being passed off as comedy,” says Maqsood. “I am enjoying writing for theatre.”

And, in the process, he's showing the country just how it should be done. As one of PTV's veteran scriptwriters, Maqsood set benchmarks for comedy and satire back when he started out. Now, he's doing the same for theatre. It proves that, unlike what has been churned out for the past few years, you don't need dance numbers, overt dialogues or lascivious eunuchs to make a play a success. Nor do you need to borrow a Western script and attempt to adapt it to Pakistan. Not when you can have a purely Pakistani script that the audience can empathize with, that makes them laugh, cry and leave them with a sense of who they are. Not as long as masterminds like Anwer Maqsood continue to write for Pakistan.

caption

The winter of his content: AM’s Aangan Terrha is so good on stage that word of mouth will make it a success

caption

Kopykats houn tou aise: Dawar Mahmood with his cast and crew