Category
Music
Music
Directed by Deeban Chakravarthy
Cast: Roli Arun
May 19th 2019
Playtonik Productions present a theatrical narration of Padma Shree (1976) awardee Ismat Chugtai’s famous story Lihaaf written in 1942.
This play comes to India after two successful runs in London.
Lihaaf is a woman-centric story that talks about the consequences of a loveless marriage. The story is told from the point of view of a young girl and her experiences when she visits her relative – Begum Jaan. The performance interweaves the plots of the relationship between Begum Jaan and her masseuse and also the domination of power that the Begum exerts over her subjects.
Ismat underwent trial for a case of obscenity on publishing this story but successfully defended it, without even tendering an apology.
The production raises themes of homosexuality and freedom of speech, that our society is grappling with even today.