With live percussionists and a powerful script, Mohammed Ali Baig brings the story of Turrebaz Khan alive on stage
History buffs are in for a treat as Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation’s 1857: Turrebaz Khan will be staged this weekend.
Talking about the genesis of the play, writer-director Mohammed Ali Baig said, “My tryst with Turrebaz Khan began 10 years ago in 2006 when I worked with the late poet and playwright Ashraf Mehdi on His Exalted Highness to be staged at the then newly-restored Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad. He said to me: ‘I am writing a play for you… It is based on the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and freedom movement in Hyderabad, which was led by the likes of Moulvi Allaudin, and Turrebaz Khan. I have just the character etched out for you.’ After the staging of His Exalted Highness, I got busy touring. And before I could return, Mehdi saab passed away. He had left an envelope for me, which had the script to the play Mujahid-e-Azadi with a note reminding me that I had to do it. I was so touched, but also emotionally overwhelmed. I couldn’t do anything with it immediately. I decided to revisit the script in April last year. To my dismay, I couldn’t find it. I was already introduced to the story of Turrebaz Khan, who appealed to me the most, as he is an unsung hero. So I decided to pen down something on my own. Soon after, when I was in Las Vegas in May last year, for the US premiere of my other play Spaces, I got a communication from Edinburgh inviting us to stage Quli: Dilon ka Shahzaada along with another production. That was it – Turrebaz Khan had found his stage.”
Set in a forest, the play is based on the life of Turrebaz Khan, the 19th century revolutionary from Hyderabad who took on the might of the British Empire. The response to the play at Edinburgh was “overwhelming,” Baig said. “Though set in the early days of the Indian freedom struggle, it is a universal story of discrimination and the triumph of the human spirit. All my plays in the last ten years from Taramati to Quli: Dilon ka Shahzaada are universal in appeal, though deep-rooted in Hyderabad’s heritage and culture. Probably that’s the reason why audiences connect with my plays from Istanbul to Paris to Edinburgh, London and Lahore to Toronto.
Turrebaz Khan is in English with three actors including Baig and three live percussion players. Baig says audience in Bengaluru can look forward “to a piece of engaging, meaningful theatre that is historical yet contemporary.”
