‘It isn’t necessary to look down upon films’

Ironical as it may sound,Ekjute director Nadira Zaheer Babbar’s decision to do the play was driven by her belief that Hindi cinema in the 50s was “an extension of theatre”, and thus,truer to life,compared to contemporary movies. “The movies made in that era were Indian in spirit and in their choice of subjects,ethos and characterisation. And of course,the music used to be nice and hummable then,” recalls Nadira. Despite her love for Hindi cinema and having one of India’s popular actors Raj Babbar as her husband,this National School of Drama graduate never ventured into films,barring two big screen appearances. Instead,a year after changing her address from Delhi to Mumbai,she formed Ekjute in 1981.

“Theatre is what I loved and was qualified to do. So with encouragement from Raj Babbarji,I carried on with my work,” says Nadira. She confesses that on looking back she is happy that she held on despite the perennial problem of funds. However,in recent years,this has eased to some extent. “Today,we are better paid for our shows. But,government subsidy to theatre would make it a lot easier for us,” says Nadira,who has written,directed and acted in around 100 plays. Some of the popular Ekjute productions are Sandhya Chhaya,Begum Jaan,Dayashankar Ki Diary,Sakubai and Ji Jaisi Aapki Marzi. Along with Bollywood Ka Salaam,18 other running productions of the group will travel to Bengaluru,Delhi,Pune and other Indian cities. Nadira counts the involvement of youth in theatre as another positive development,even though their entry is guided by the dream of joining television and films eventually. The Ekjute founder sounds pleased. “At least,we now have youngsters joining our group and attending workshops,” she says.

Despite the all-pervading love for films in India,Nadira does see the film industry as a necessary evil. “We shouldn’t look down upon films,” she says. In that case,why has she not thought of doing any more films after Bride and Prejudice and M F Husain’s Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities? “Two things would tempt me to sign a film: Either the role or the money should be very good. But then I have never dreamt of owning a chopper. Theatre has always made me happy.”

ALAKA SAHANI