You Got Mail! A review of “Tumhari Amrita”
Written by Anupama Gopalakrishnan

I am back to writing letters! Letters have always been an interesting aspect of one’s expressions and over the years, with the advent of technologically sound electronic mails, letters have become a thing of the past. But still, letters hold that personal touch, the feel that only few can understand. My urge to writing letters began last night. Strange, is it? Not anymore. For a decade now, a simple and poignant play “Tumhari Amrita” is still going strong in the United States of America. Thanks to Ishani Arts and Rita Travel Services, Tumhari Amrita regaled the Asian Indian Michigan audience with a silent charm.

Attended by over 400 Asian Indians from Michigan at the spacious Clarenceville Auditorium Livonia, Tumhari Amrita is a theatre experience with no sets, props or stage gimmicks. Tumhari Amrita explores relationships between two interesting individuals who communicate with each other through letters. In a performance like 'Tumhari Amrita', “the audience becomes pivotal to the play”, added Feroz Khan, the much acclaimed director. Feroz is known for his theatrical works such as Mahatma v/s Gandhi, Saalgirah, Salesman Ramlal, The Royal Hunt and many more.

What is so different about this play? The difference is seeing two people sit at their individual tables and proceed to read methodically from a sheaf of letters.

The answer is found in the play where “words dominate the need for rapid action, sentences and its natural poetic sense compete, not challenge each other”, emphasized Feroz. In the new world of lightning email and sms, the ease and the emotional comfort and intimacy of letter writing remains unchallenged.

The play is based about three generations ago, in a post-Independence India and chronicles the life long correspondence between a pair of friends and later lovers. With just two articulate characters the witty, charming and spunky Amrita and straight laced, man of honor and purpose Zulfi – the no-nonsense intimacy allows them to slip into the roles of people who love each other for life, but, for one reason or another, remain apart. This memorable journey of friendship captivated in the form of letters (with fresh and breezy performances by Shabana Azmi and Farooque Sheikh) forms the core theme of this unfulfilled story of love. The play throws light on human emotions and real sentiments with warm intimate humor.

Full of zest and punch, the play also offers some sharp bites. From the birthday invitation to Zulfi to the last letter almost 40 years later, from silences and pauses, to marriages-broken and strong, drinking and smoking addictions to death and second wives, painting nudes to politics, this artistic play travels like a caravan. 

90 minutes later, a thought crossed by – what ever happened to my postman who delivered those numerous cards and letters? 

After the play, Shabana Azmi, Farooque Sheikh and Feroz Khan interacted and shared their thoughts with the audience. They were gracious enough to pose for pictures and also sign autographs. “I liked the play very much. The play had the right script, the right performers. It was a different experience”, said Farida and Kasim Ali, Farmington Hills. 

Ishani Arts has been bringing quality shows to the Michigan audience since 1985. “The audience has encouraged me to bring interesting and thinking artists and with my experience in theatre, I analyze the shows for quality and content”, said Ajit Mehta of Ishaani Arts, Michigan.

Later that evening, the performers along with a select group of invitees enjoyed dinner at Sitar Indian Cuisine.

Yours truly,
Anupama

Miindia shared a few moments with Feroz Khan, the director, a leading theater personality from Mumbai.

Tumhari Amrita was conceived many years back in Boston. “It was primarily discussed by a writer called Chandrakant Shah. The concept of “Love Letters” was very interesting. I was the head of the Prithvi Theatre and this play is a tribute to late Jennifer Kapoor (Actress, wife of the charming Indian actor Shashi Kapoor).” said Feroz. In this adaptation, the audience becomes pivotal to the play. This, in itself is a great achievement in an age where the Performing Arts are losing the hold that they had on the general public.

In his quiet manner, Feroz says that a theatre performance is not a pseudonym for extravaganza. Sure, lights, sound and detailed sets contribute to the performance, but in the truest sense, a theatrical performance needs space, a qualitative audience and actors to perform. 

What strikes Feroz in the play is the “freshness” the performers bring in spite of a decade of 260 stage shows of “Tumhari Amrita” all over the world. 

On the reasons behind the casting – Feroz reiterated that “Shabana Azmi and Farooque Sheikh are two thinking personalities who speak the language well and who are compatible to each other. These two performers can hold the attention of the audience.” 

“10 years, I haven’t seen their acting fade. They have been performing with the same sensitivity and enthusiasm and the depths they have reached as human beings is conveyed. What has changed is their age and not their performance”, explained Feroz.

Well audience, if you have missed this play, do not worry- Feroz Khan will be visiting the United States next year (sometime March 2003) in a new project with the effervescent Anupam Kher in “Kuch Bhi Ho Saktha Hai”.

As a director, Feroz Khan has directed six full-length plays and 12 one-act plays. In 1990, The Royal Hunt of the Sun (52 shows) by Peter Shaffer, which he directed, was declared Play of the Year by the Times of India. For Mahtma v/s Gandhi, he received rave reviews from the press in South Africa and a commendation letter from none other than The President of India, Mr. K R Narayanan. As the Artistic Director of the prestigious Prithvi Theatre, Bombay, from 1984 to 1992, he pioneered the Annual International Theatre Festival of plays. Through his plays, Feroz has also raised funds for charitable causes. US $ 50,000 from a performance of Tumhari Amrita was donated to earthquake relief. He has done shows for the Hunger Project and helped raise money for an India Chair at the University of Columbia.

A visibly tired Shabana Azmi spoke to miindia for a few minutes at Sitar Indian restaurant. Shabana Azmi was in New York for the 40th New York Film Festival that felicitated her with a “Special Retrospective Program” that featured a few of her selected films from 28 September to 10 October. This being the tenth anniversary of “Tumhari Amrita”, Shabana visited Michigan, courtesy Ishaani Arts Rita Travel Services.

“Tumhari Amrita is a very close play to me. I really enjoyed being in Michigan and thanks to the audience. They were great”, said Shabana Azmi. Asked about her multi-faceted personality and the” real-life” role she really likes the most, she explained that though all these are different aspects of my personality “they are all intertwined with each other”. “These roles are not far removed from each other as they all express the same concerns”. “I am against religious fundamentalism and being an activist and a film theatre personality, I enjoy interacting with people”, said Shabana.

My role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador requires me to tackle population issues. On her thoughts about sustainable development in India, Shabana emphasized that the way we can achieve sustainable development is by placing women in the center of developmental issues. “Make them active participants instead of passive recipients. Involve the women in decision-making process”. Another approach is pursuing indigenous forms of development instead of blindly following the western concept of “big is beautiful”, explained Shabana. My best thought is to invest in education, health and social causes as this paves way for progress, mentioned Shabana.

Ms. Shabana Azmi is also a community activist who has been in the forefront of AIDS awareness campaign. Miindia questioned Ms. Azmi about the distribution of retro viral drugs in India. To this, she stated that the “drugs are very expensive”. “The primary thought that occurs to me is to concentrate on awareness and prevention”. Pharmaceutical industries in India need to ensure that the drugs are readily available to the people. This requires a lot of research funding and it is again a case of bottomless pit, explained Shabana. For this the educated should come forward and spread awareness to both rural/urban India.

Shabana voiced her true concern that “in order for the community to improve, you have to work with the community”. Political aspirants who are comfortably settled in United States need to work with the grassroots, NGO’s in order to serve the community. Get back to India and touch the soil. This is true service.

Born to the acclaimed lyricist Kaifi Azmi and known stage actress Shaukat Kaifi, Ms Azmi earned a name for herself as an actress not only in commercial cinema but in parallel cinema as well. She won the National Award for her very first film Ankur in 1974, and won National Awards for three consecutive years (1983-85) for her sensitive portrayals in Arth, Kahndhar and Paar. Ms Azmi has been a committed social activist too. She has also addressed students and faculty of several universities in India and abroad, including MIT, Boston, University of Chicago and University of London. Ms Azmi is a member of the National Integration Council headed by the Prime Minister. She is married to celebrated poet and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar. Shabana Azmi is also the Member of Indian Parliament and the UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador for India. Known for her commitment to social causes, Ms Azmi will advocate population and development, reproductive health and gender issues. She will also visit UNFPA’s project sites, interact with communities and address population-related concerns at various fora.