The city of Mumbai is teeming with dreamers. From Shah Rukh Khan to the latest arrival at Dadar’s crowded railway station, everyone hopes that the city will offer them a path to their dreams. Twenty-five-year-old Atif Ally Dagman knew that. But the actor-director had a more practical approach to it.

Earlier this month, Dagman made his first breakthrough by debuting with his solo-act play, Miah Boy Diaries to critical praise at Prithvi Theatre’s Thespo Festival. “It is hallowed ground for any theatre artiste,” he tells us pointedly. The play’s houseful response was a delayed fulfilment for the writer who crafted it back in 2020. “I had always wanted to write something for the festival, and the pandemic gave me an opportunity,” he remarks.