The lyricist shines on stage

A play, presented by Tom Alter, focused on the role of a lyricist and how they should get their dues

Day one of the three-day Hyderabad Literary Festival concluded with a treat of theatre under the stars. Veteran actor Tom Alter presented Parchayiaan, a play that brings to life the story of a notable lyricist of the Hindi film industry.

The play’s larger message is how writers also deserve recognition and remuneration equal to that of the stars and the music director of the film. The play fit in well with the theme of the city’s literary festival,

Hyderabad was represented on the stage with the students from Hyderabad Public School performing dance numbers that were featured in the gaps between different scenes of the play. The children had not had much time to choreograph and practice, yet they performed well and earned appreciation from Tom and from the young playwright Sohail Akhtar.

The narrative had Tom playing an older version of Sohail mulling over his life – a story of rebellion, romance and freedom struggle. Interestingly, for most of the audience, Tom is perhaps the familiar figure who has played a British Raj official, several times over.

Huddled over stairs and all possible spaces in the open air theatre, the members of the audience also couldn’t stop themselves from singing along to the songs in the play. After a day of debates, discussions and the likes, the song and dance mode of Parchayiaan, along with the layers of emphatic artistic and socio-political implications, was the best way to retire on the inaugural day of HLF 2015.