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Controversial
‘Burqavaganza’ re-staged
Islamabad
The controversial yet popular Ajoka play ‘ Burqavaganza’ was
re-staged on Thursday at the National Drama Festival, organised by
Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
‘Burqavaganza’ is a play written by
Shahid Nadeem to challenge the mindsets, provoke the audience to
rethink and break the chains of prejudice and outdated values. The
satirical play addresses the issue of the ‘burqa’ (veil) and
highlights the double-standards and hypocrisy of the feudal and
tribal mindset. Ajoka aims to use humour and satire to challenge the
cultural status quo and to provoke people to think for themselves
and refuse to be judged and harassed by fundamentalist mindset.
In the past, ‘Burqavaganza’ faced ban
and also severe criticism for being un-Islamic, enough to be
classified as blasphemous by various Islamist and fundamentalist
groups. Yet the relevance of the theme is still present around us
and Ajoka continues to stage the play, highlighting the impact of
forced veil on the society, as it becomes a tool to hide what a
person wishes to keep private. The play refers to ‘Osama Bin Laden’
as ‘Burqa Bin Badin’, reportedly hiding in Afghanistan, where the
Taliban regime once enforced the ‘burqa’.
As a musical comedy, the play
explores ‘burqa’ not only as dramatic attire, but also uses it as a
metaphor. It is the story of young lovers who are determined to defy
the hypocritical values of an ultra conservative society. The play
portrays the youth using veils and ‘hijab’ while dating in the
parks. A visual representation and clips were screened during the
play.
The audience applauded the lines like
“Burqay Kay Peachay Kia Hai” and “Ye Jo Burqa Hai Dushman Hai Hamara”
and “Burqa Associations”.
The cast included Sarfraz Ansari,
Iqbal Naqvi, Imranul Haq, Nosheen Sheikh, Raza Abbas, Khola Qureshi,
Asif Japani, Azzan Malik, Usman Zia, Shahid Zarar, Shehzad, Yaqoob
Masih, Nadeem Abbas, Waseem Luka, Meena, Razia Malik, and Vicky. The
characters of the play appear in veils.
The News:
Saturday, June 13, 2009 |
