Ranga Shankara to host acclaimed play Ali J

Mediocre and random plays don’t get invited to the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a 25-day gala fest where over 3,000 shows per day are staged at 400 venues. So there should be a reason why Ali J, by Evam, the Chennai-based theatre troupe, became the first Indian play to run all 25 days of the festival August last year.
Ali J is a story of a Muslim boy, grappling with living in a confused secular state — is he more of a Muslim or more of an Indian? Does he belong to this side of the border or the other? Was partition necessary; is it even relevant today? Is Ali, a Gandhi or is he a Jinnah? The questions come freely; the answers are elusive.
The erected poles with several nooses set the stage — Ali is a prisoner, lodged next to Kasab and Babu Bajrangi. He is sentenced to death. He has twenty hours left in this lifetime. He spends it looking back at his life.
His father, a sweetmeat shop owner, wants him to take up the family business. So Ali is sent to London by his family to do a course in hospitality. The world is under the grip of Islamophobia. In UK, even before he could complete his course Ali falls in love with acting. He returns home to pursue his dreams in Bollywood and fails. He takes up a job in a call centre, falls in love with a coworker, a Hindu…and his life turns into a Bollywood film. Actor-director Karthik Kumar enacts the Bollywood ishstyle romance convincingly. To it’s credit, the play does not let you forget, for long, that it sits heavily on political connotations.
Even as the medley of light and darkness adds to the performance, it is refreshing to see the combination of mime techniques and street play elements. At the same time Ali’s prisoncellisevolvingwiththeact.
It is an interesting ensemble with the actor transforming the set to something new – which metaphorically represents his state of mind. Though Ali is trapped between society, family,an alleged crime of being a terrorist, the satan within is raging a battle in his mind. Does it make sense for a Muslim to align with Muslim forces in India? Was Mohammad Ali Jinnah right in asking for a separate nation? What transformed the secular Jinnah to a Muslim radical towards the end of his life? The play explores the changes in Jinnah’s life through a contemporary perspective – Ali’s life.
Playwright Shekina Jacob’s attempt at exploring this layered story with a modern treatment justifies the accolades it received at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Kumar’s direction and acting completes the circle with perfection. The 57-minutes solo act has been divided into 16 chapters of Ali’s life that sways between the past and the present, making the narrative engaging. For Kumar, a seasoned performer, the punctuations of lights, an original background score, emphatically designed sets are equally important to keep the audience engaged. Even when Ali says he is missing biryani, it has a distinct expression and a movement.Theaudiencewillnotjust sympathise but empathise with the alleged terrorist imprisoned in the web of complications.

Ali has blood on his hands. He has been sentenced to death. He has just 24 hours to live. A story of a stubborn lover, a dreamer – beyond what society allows him. His Islam is fleeting. His love is Bollywood-like. Why would you care? After all, he is Muslim. Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar. January 31, 7.30 pm. by Karthik Kumar Shekina Jacob indianstage.in, bookmyshow.com