Of love, infidelity and death

PANAJI: When fate betrays the heart, the agony of love can leave even the toughest of the lot brewing in an emotional turmoil. In what is perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching sagas of love, Saif Hyder Hasan’s play, ‘Gardish Mein Taare’, presents the predicament of love and chaos in a beautiful narrative.
Inspired by the turbulent marriage between yesteryear’s filmmaker Guru Dutt and his singer wife Geeta, the story speaks about love, infidelity and death.Critically acclaimed actors Arif Zakaria and Sonali Kulkarni seamlessly essay the roles of Hindi cinema’s celebrity couple. While it seemed picture perfect on the face of it, in reality, the couple were struggling to keep their volatile relationship intact.
“Gurudutt had a very interesting journey,” said director, Saif Hyder Hasan, speaking exclusively to TOI. “Though he died in 1950s, it wasn’t until the 80s, when a French filmmaker saw his films and took the prints to Cannes, that he was recognized internationally. His story of unrequited love is something that the audience can connect with because it’s something most of us have been through at some point in our lives.”
Narrated through a flashback, the plot revolves around an ambitious filmmaker who has little time to pay attention to his wife. What follows is a lovely relationship going sour and infidelity looming like a grim reaper in what could have been a fairytale like marriage. The tale is rife with emotional upheavals which compellingly argue about ‘the fault in our stars’ yet do not sound monotonous. The epistolary format used in the play had the audience rapt in attention. “Gurudutt wrote 37 letters to his wife where he discussed routine activities with her. This became the structure of the play,” added Saif.
Certain elements used in the play like allusions to stars from the bygone era, screen projections of the Bombay of yore and classic songs of the 50s and 60s made a cinematic impact leaving the audience spellbound. Discussions about Satyajit Ray’s films, art cinema and a casual mention of then South superstar, MGR was spot on. The setting and design, true to the era, added aesthetic appeal.
Zakaria wonderfully plays Dutt’s Gatsbian character who fruitlessly pursues lofty goals with an inability to accept the changing reality in his personal life. Kulkarni convincingly plays the lonely wife who drinks down her sorrows but when she laughs, the shrill cry of her vocal cords speaks multitudes of her solitude.
Music by Parvesh Singh gives the entire play charming texture and the presence of invisible characters is portrayed through background voices and defined via lights’ focus.