History and fantasy come together in time of war

Poet turned playwright Ranjit Hoskote Avaan Patel. PIC/PRIYA D'SOUZAWars rage in 3u00a0 plays scheduled to be staged in the city shortly, but the most grievous wounds that the characters bleed from are not inflicted by weapons. Poet Ranjit Hoskote and director Avaan Patel led us to the battlefrontWar has been a recurrent theme in the writings of Ranjit Hoskote, who was just 22 when his first anthology of poems was published under the title, Zones of Assault. At the time, the Elphinstone College alumnus and Sanskriti Award winner had already worked as an art critic for three years. But speaking about the three plays titled Karna, The Last Annals of Alamgir and Aftermath, which he has recently penned for Mumbai theatres, the author says, They're not about war, but about what it does to relationships about what happens to people in moments of crisis. Drawn to artHaving grown up in an environment that was immensely enriched by Art and Literature, both, Ranjit Hoskote and Avaan Patel claim to have known, very early, that this was the world they belonged to. But while actor/director Avaan Patel shares that her career-path was illuminated while watching her parents' actor-friends backstage after a show, at the age of 10, Hoskote simply knew he wanted to be a writer. Elphinstone College was a great learning ground, Hoskote recalls, taking us back to the institution that gave his ambition impetus. A fusion of ideasThough the duo's friendship can be traced back to the amity that existed between their parents, Hoskote and Patel have also acted alongside each other when they read one of Nissim Ezekiel's poems in college. But it was about two years ago when a casual conversation with Hoskote gave birth to the idea behind this project. Avaan suggested I write for theatre, Hoskote declares, while Patel explains that she had been looking for new and interesting scripts at the time. Ranjit completed Karna about a year ago. He had also translated his poem on Alamgir for the theatre. But it was the visual imagery of Alamgir's script that struck me the most, Patel points out. Bound by the same threadAll three plays are character-centric in which emotional conflicts rage in the foreground of violence and destruction. And though Karna touches on mythology, Alamgir borrows from history, and Aftermath combines history and mythology with fantastical twist. Interestingly, all three plays are unmistakably linked in a way that became apparent to Patel as she saw the characters come alive during rehearsals. If the audiences watch all three plays, they'll undoubtedly recognise the connection, she believes.And yet, both Hoskote and Patel feel that each of the three plays has its own individual identity and shouldn't be grouped in order for audiences to enjoy or appreciate the ideas they represent.Meet the charactersThe first play, Karna portrays the emotional struggles of the abandoned son of Kunti, who had to fight against his own half-brothers in the epic battle that constitutes the heart of the Mahabharata. She chose actor Gerish Khemani for the role based on strong performances he has delivered in the past. Each actor lent their role a new dimension, she says.u00a0With The Annals of Alamgir, the author claims to have taken deliberate liberties with history, as he presents the struggles that may have plagued the powerful Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Hoskote believes history is open to interpretations. In India, the tendency to stick to a 'fixed past' takes away from the fact that Indians have inherited a multiple set of legacies, he laments. Veteran theatre personality Tom Alter plays the title role of Alamgir. Patel will be seen on stage too, first as the angel that Alamgir invokes and then as Gandhari in Aftermath. The plays will run at the YB Chavan Centre, Sachivalaya Marg, from January 22nd to January 25th (at 7 pm), and at the Prithvi Theatre, Juhu Church Road, Juhu, on January 30th (6.30 pm and 9 pm) and January 31st at the same time.