Zee Theatre presents the acclaimed play ‘Aaj Rang Hai’ on March 28th at 2 pm and 8 pm on TataSky Theatre. Written and directed by Purva Naresh, one of the most powerful and influential female voices in contemporary Indian theatre, ‘Aaj Rang Hai’ is a musical celebration of India’s syncretic cultural and artistic traditions through the poetry of Amir Khusrau.

A period drama set in post-partition India, Aaj Rang Hai invokes Khusrau’s all-embracing philosophy in an attempt to foster communal harmony in a society that is becoming increasingly separatist.

Purva says, “The play is set in post-partition India but there are many moments in the narrative that remind us of the headlines we see today. Love is the foundation of human existence, art, culture, of everything we are and do. The root word of humanity is human and we cannot be fully human without love. Hate does not just dehumanise the so-called ‘other’, it dehumanises us. What will remain of us if we only keep fighting?”

Beni Bai is the pivot around whom the story revolves. She has a profound knowledge of the history of Indian classical music and uses it to counsel her neighbours – be it Fanney & Sharda’s inter-religious affair, Ameena & Vidya’s endless curiosity about love, life, and God, or whether Holi is a festival of only the Hindus – wise Beni holds the keys to all the complexities.

The play stars Purva Naresh with Trishla Patel, Sarika Singh, Prerna Chawla, Nishi Doshi, Purva Naresh, Pawan Uttam, Imran Rasheed, Hidayat Sami, and Danish Hussain.

Tune in to Tata Sky Theatre to watch Aaj Rang Hai on March 28 at 2 pm and 8pm.

Zee Theatre adds another modern classic to its treasure-trove of theatrical treats with director and writer Purva Naresh’s ‘Ladies Sangeet. ‘ A poster announcing the teleplay that stars Joy Sengupta, Loveleen Mishra along with Nidhi Singh, Siddhant Karnick, Harsh Khurana, Sarika Singh, and Monica Gupta was launched today. Tune in to Airtel Spotlight on January 31, 2021, at 2 pm and 6 pm respectively to watch this acclaimed musical drama.

‘Ladies Sangeet’ tells the story of young Radha who is to wed her beau Siddharth at her ancestral home in the hinterlands while her enthusiastic family members and their wedding planner are trying to make the wedding resemble the ones in Bollywood! The play uses wit, humour, music, and drama to bring out extremely relevant challenges faced by families and individuals, especially against the backdrop of a big, fat wedding.

Purva Naresh shares, “The play tries to develop a discourse on what is feminine identity and how it is being manipulated through classical texts, through patriarchy, through cultural appropriation and the market. Female identity filtered through the male gaze, is the core of the play. A wedding seemed a perfect setting for this because the bride is the epitome of the feminine and the groom of the masculine. Its a wedding and the bride is getting freaked out. Not just the bride but the groom too is getting freaked out. And then it seems, everyone has a disquiet. As the household prepares for a boisterous sangeet, the disquiet seems to be spreading and growing. And through classical songs, folk songs, Bollywood music we begin to see glimpses of how conditioning works. How prevalent is the male gaze that even women embrace it gladly.”

Joy Sengupta who enacts a pivotal character in the teleplay, says, “I play the complex character of a slightly harrowed father whose truth is revealed only in the second half when the audience learns why he has a problematic relationship with his wife. The tension then builds up to a very cathartic scene where all of his insecurities and secrets tumble out. It is then that viewers gauge the extent of his misery within the institution of marriage and start questioning the gender roles in marital relationships and society.”

Tune in to Airtel Spotlight on January 31, 2021 at 2 pm and 6 pm respectively.