Dubai: People in Dubai may love their cinema, but they are equally capable of appreciating theatre, plays and stage performances, acclaimed theatre artist and one of India’s finer method actors Pankaj Kapur told XPRESS ahead of his Dubai debut next week.
The actor-director who became a household name in the 1980s for playing detective Karamchand in the eponymous Hindi TV series will be in Dubai on September 2 for a ‘dramatic reading in Hindustani’ of his novella Dopehri (Afternoon). A ‘parallel cinema’ actor, Kapur said he is confident of striking a chord with the UAE’s ‘informed crowd’.
International premiere
“I have done about 20 shows across India reading Dopehri, but this (Dubai performance) will be a first and I think it will be equally well-received here,” he said while talking about the international premiere of the play he had written over two decades ago.
“I know that people in Dubai are particularly well read, educated and intelligent and that the audience in front of me will come looking forward to an evening that is different from watching a film. That is the kind of crowd that goes to a theatre or a play and I am hoping to see many of them in Dubai.”
Kapur’s novella (usually referred to as a work of written, narrative prose that’s longer than a short story but shorter than a novel) revolves around the story of an old and lonely woman, Amma Bi, and her journey from loneliness to self-discovery in the ‘afternoon’ of her life, in a mansion in the old quarters of the regal city of Lucknow. However, Kapur says she is just as relevant to Dubai and its people.
“There’s an audience that will understand not just the language but also the story. So even though it’s a 20-year-old play and its setting is very different from Dubai, there are many who would be able to connect as the plot has an angle of an overgrown family staying out of the country. It’s a human story after all and basic human relationships haven’t changed,” added Kapur whose play has a reading time of an hour and 20 minutes.
“Anybody who likes to read, hear stories or experience a story being told on stage instead of the cinemas should find it interesting to attend the show,” said the veteran actor who is known for his critical roles in Bollywood hits like Maqbool and Roja and is the father of Bollywood star Shahid Kapur.
Details:
What: Dramatic reading of Dopehri When: September 2, 6pm & 9pm Where: Centrepoint Theatre, DUCTAC, Mall of the Emirates
Tickets starting from: Dh150 Contact: 04-341 4777
