Gulzar, theatre veteran Salim Arif on bringing forth children's play Boski Ke Kaptan Chacha

Iconic lyricist-writer Gulzar and theatre veteran Salim Arif are back as a team. They have come together for a play, Boski Ke Kaptan Chacha, which carries an important message.

Boski Ke Kaptan Chacha will be staged in Mumbai on 15 May, and its makers want to sensitise people to a subject that every Indian should be aware of.

Giving a glimpse of the play, Gulzar tells Firstpost, “Kaptan chacha is a loved character in a chawl. He is a retired military captain and has a lovely rapport with children.”

As 26 January approaches, Kaptan Chacha gears up to celebrate it and encourages children to participate in flag hoisting.

“With that, we explain everything about the Indian flag which people must know about,” he says.

The issue of social apathy towards national festivals is addressed with humour and entertaining situations in the 75-minute long play.

Arif shares that the audience will be sensitised to a few things which “might surprise them also.”

“If you do a survey, you’ll find that a large number of our population doesn’t know the difference between 15 August and 26 January. I have noticed that every Independence Day and Republic Day, there is a questionnaire on this and people always give very interesting answers,” says the director.

“People will be sensitised to our national flag, understanding the respect it deserves and a few other things,” he adds.

The other important thing for him was to get slum children to work in a play that could be showcased in the “most elitist auditorium” of South Mumbai.

“I think it’s a major achievement for these kids. I am very happy,” says Arif.

Produced by Lubna Salim, the play stars child actors from Dhai Akshar Educational Trust that works with children from underprivileged backgrounds and slum areas.

“I know about the trust because it’s run by a friend and it’s a personalised kind of an NGO. It’s not an NGO that runs on grants. It runs on volunteers and friends. We were very happy to collaborate on a play. The cast members are from this trust and my theatre group. The challenge was to combine the two. They gelled well. It’s more like an ensemble family project which is the beauty of it,” says the director.

Getting children from underprivileged backgrounds to act on stage wasn’t an easy task. “Some of them were natural and some of them needed to be pushed. Each child has own pace. Some take more time to open up. It is important to create a synergy and an ensemble family feel in the team so that each one knows they are working for the other person,” he says.

“Theatre is not like a reality show where you have to be the best. The pressure is not about that. You need to make the other person feel good and better,” he adds.

According to Gulzar, Arif’s rapport with children is very good. “He keeps doing good children’s plays. That’s how he adopted me a child play writer. I have been adopted by a good director,” says the veteran, who has given us some of the most memorable children’s songs like ‘Lakdi Ki Kaathi’ and ‘Jungle, Jungle Baat Chali Hai’.

The two have known each for long, and the bond has only strengthened with time.

“I designed for his Mirza Ghalib and Kirdaar. I was an associate director when Gulzar directed Maachis. The same goes for Hu Tu Tu,” says Arif.

Recalling how the two became a team, Gulzar says, “At one time in cinema, he assisted me. After I stopped making films, he was doing theatre. Then I started assisting him.

“We have known each other through decades. He knows my work. He knows what I am writing and what I have written before. He also asks me if I can give a story like this or give him a play for children or give him a play for a season, so that becomes a team. And that’s how we have been working in theatre together. I am quite proud of this team,” he adds.

Gulzar and Arif had earlier worked together on the Hindi adaptation of Pinocchio. They had also collaborated on plays like Chakkar Chalaaye Ghanchakkar, Arrey O Henry and Kharaashein.

Boski Ke Kaptan Chacha will be running at Experimental Theatre, Mumbai on May 15

Natalia Ningthoujam is a Manipur-based journalist. She knows how to smoothly switch from being a fan to a writer whenever needed. She tweets at @nattynick.

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