ARABIAN CHARM
After staging Bengali plays for over four decades, a city-based theatre company has adapted the story of Ali Baba for their next production in Hindi
A theatre company has adapted the famous story, Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves, in Hindi, for a stage production in the city
Much before Harry Potter and company made the spell ‘Alohomora’ popular, children depended on the classic ‘Open Sesame’ charm to imagine themselves unlocking closed doors. This popular spell that many will remember from the iconic story of Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves is set to be presented on stage in the city. Part of the collection of stories called One Thousand and One Nights, popularly known as The Arabian Nights, the story has filled many childhoods with generous amounts of fantasy.
Talking about the Hindi adaptation of Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves, director Lucky Mukherjee says, “It will be an understatement to call it an entertaining potboiler. From romance and action to music and comedy, it has everything. I have earlier staged the play in Bengali, and I’m sure children will be elated to see the spell cast in Hindi. Mukherjee will also essay the role of one of the slaves himself.
The musical has an enormous cast of over 50 members, and will feature a live band as well. About the logistical challenges faced in putting the drama together, Mukherjee says, “None of my actors are full-time theatre artistes. Some of them are in marketing, while others are in shipping or engineering. It was a task to bring all of them together for even the weekend rehearsals. So, we would rehearse scene by scene whenever we could.”
The performance aims at raising funds for cancer patients. Shedding light on the cause, he adds, “A decade ago, I lost my wife, Tanushree, to cancer. Since then, none of my actors have asked for any remuneration for being part of my plays. All our collections and profits go towards several cancer aid foundations across the country.”
FOLK LORE
The folk tale follows the adventures of Ali Baba, a poor woodcutter, who finds out the secret code to a thieves' den. But all hell breaks loose when the thieves get to know about this, and try to kill him.