Entertainment with a Purpose
Kya Khoya Kya Paya: A Katha Theatre Production
Kya Khoya Kya Paya was our spokesperson, Sania Saeed’s, gift to the Trust. She brought her special brand of spontaneity to the production. Her presence, as always, lit up the theatre. She, Rehan and Saleem performed to perfection and delivered virtually a lesson in effective timing and presence which are the mainstay of quality theatre. Kya Khoya Kya Paya ran successfully for three days in Islamabad and was seen by approximately 1,200 persons.
Kya Khoya Kya Paya is the Urdu adaptation of George Kelly’s one act play ‘Finders Keepers’. Translated and directed by the talented Shahid Shafaat, Kya Khoya Kya Paya featured Sania Saeed, Rehan Sheikh and Saleem Meraj as the three characters in a comedic triangle of things lost, found, kept and returned. The theme of ‘Finders Keepers’ is the common temptation to keep what is found.
Staged at the Islamabad Club Auditorium, the set of the one act play was designed by Asthetix and was a treat for entertainment hungry Islooites. More importantly, Islamabad appreciated the effort that went into the production, from the stage to the script to the perfectly hilarious timing of Saleem, Sania and Rehan. Kya Khoya Kya Paya production was generously sponsored by Mobilink. We acknowledge the support given to us by Mr. Bilal Munir Sheikh, Director Marketing. Based upon our theme of ‘Quality Entertainment with a Purpose’, we were very proud to sponsor the first performance in Islamabad by the theatre group Katha, in August 2004.
Friends- A Katha Theatre Production
In September 2005, Katha Theatre came to the support of Rizwan Scholars yet again with another classy stage production titled “Friends”. Written and directed by the talented Shahid Shafaat, the play featured Sania Saeed in lead role with Arjumand Raheem and Hina as supporting actors. The play, held in Islamabad at our usual venue – Islamabad Club – ran for 3 days and was generously sponsored by PTCL.
An Urdu production, the story was about three friends who live in an apartment together and struggle to make their dreams come true, each being a unique and individual aspiration. While the three girls are devoted to each other and live harmoniously, their views about the world are poles apart as are their family backgrounds. During the course of the play, they develop differences, argue over matters, try to change each others’ opinion and finally reconcile and accept varying opinions and beliefs. Friends was a story of true friendship, living and letting live, and doing so hilariously. Sania, ofcourse, was her usual, inimitable self. However, Arjumand and Hina delivered powerful performances.
Knowing Arjumand from her TV roles, one did not expect such superb comedy timing and capacity from her. As it turned out, Arjumand was most applauded as the shy, conservative, dupatta-twisting kurta-pyjama clad girl who desires all the fun things in life but is wretchedly scared of annoying her overbearing parents. Friends was enjoyed by houseful audiences over three days at very low priced tickets. Rizwan Scholars is grateful to Katha for putting up an excellent show at no charge other than the cost of production.
Kishte Zafraan- An Indo-Pak Mushaira
With this production in 2006, Rizwan Scholars attempted to change its “Entertainment with a Purpose” offering first by a highly complex comedy venture involving leading TV and stage artistes and, for the first time, presenting in Karachi. We also changed ou venue from Islamabad Club to the Marriott in Islamabad and Karachi. Kishte-Zaafran was sponsored by ARY Digital, AirBlue and a number of Corporates in Islamabad and Karachi and proved to be one of the best productions seen by the two cities in many years.
Written by Anwar Maqsood, a stalwart of the performing arts and a long time supporter of Rizwan Scholars, Kishte-Zaafran was developed along the lines of a traditional mushaira featuring Anwar Maqsood as the compere and master of ceremonies and two poets each from Pakistan and India. The poetic parodies offered a tongue-in-cheek commentary on contemporary politics and other current affairs of importance. Featuring the best comedians that the sub-continent has to offer – Moin Akhtar and Bushra Ansari – and supported ably by Behroze Sabzwari and Mishi Khan, Anwar Maqsood’s side splitting couplets rendered hilariously by the actors made for thorough enjoyment by the audience. Moin and Bushra’s performance can not be appreciated in words; they were simply excellent. As a first attempt in Karachi, Rizwan Scholars received a warm welcome and good reviews after the event.
ARY covered the event and hopes to use it on TV at a suitable time. While our earlier productions have reaped fair amounts of profit for the Trust, Kishte Zaafran, due to its elaborate production, strained the purse a bit. However, we were able to draw some good sponsorships as well as generate some ticket-based revenue. We are hopeful that subsequent productions will encourage more people to attend the event and offer sponsorship.