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Journalism of Courage
PUNE, JANUARY 30: On September 15, 1965, a tall, lean 22-year-old man from Agapura in Hyderabad the only survivor among eight children who died of poverty and malnutrition out of sheer desperation and hunger sat under a streetlight outside his house scribbling away furiously. Three-and-half hours later, a legend was created.
Adrak ke Panje has enjoyed a success unparalleled in Indian theatre, having completed a record 10,000 shows on January 7 this year. However, Babban Khan, the man behind the success, now plans to bring down the curtains on this comedy which has played to packed houses since 1965.
From the streets of Hyderabad to the portals of St James, New York, Khan’s has been a saga of courage and determination.
And now, this is perhaps the last opportunity for Puneites to watch the play at Tilak Smarak Mandir on February 5 and Nehru Memorial Hall the following day.
“It is much better that I call off the show with some izzat before people begin to get tired of the whole thing. I had plannedon reaching a target of 10,000 shows across the world and I have managed to achieve this magic number,” he told The Indian Express.
Interestingly, besides a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1984 for the longest one-man show, this play has been seen by an estimated three crore people, staged in 60 countries around the globe, 25 cities in USA and 65 cities and towns in India. This has been the first play in the country to be computerised and translated into 27 foreign languages. What’s more, this one-man show has run parallel to Dustin Hoffman’s in New York and Khan’s autographs have appeared in the Washington auditorium along with Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra.
Khan has not forgotten his days of poverty. “I sold off my mother’s last ornament, a gold mangalsutra, for Rs 275, booked a theatre for Rs 200, paid Rs 35 for printing tickets and gave the rest to my mother for rations,”hesays.
On September 22, 1965, Adrak Ke Panje was staged for the first time. It was a massive flop,but a good samaritan came backstage later and gave him Rs 500 to continue with the show. Khan plans to wind up by the end of the year with shows in Delhi, Jaipur, Jabalpur, Shimla and Mumbai. And then concentrate on his next project Adrak ke Panje — Part II.
