Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd Na Karo – Quintessence of Dust

A prostitute and her customers. A police officer. Mumbai’s local train. Abuses. Crime and punishment. …… No, I am not talking about a Hindi film or a literary work. I am writing about a Gujarati play. Yes, you read it right. A meaningful and thought-provoking Gujarati drama. What drew me to the theatre? The three names associated with it viz, Saumya Joshi (does he need any introduction?), Jayesh More (the actor who brilliantly played a police-officer with razor-sharp intellect in ‘Wrong Side Raju’), Umesh Shukla (producer of the film ‘Oh My God’) and I must say they didn’t let me down at all. Let me begin with some introductory details.

‘Aaj Jaane ki Zid naa Karo’ is a play by Saumya Joshi (the creator of ‘Welcome Jindagi’ and ‘102 Not Out’, and a remarkable poet as well). It is originally written in Marathi by Suresh Chikhle and adapted into Gujarati by Saumya sir and Umesh Shukla as a co-producer. It pertains to the life story of a police officer and a sex-worker who meet up in a late night Mumbai local and the meandering path of their relationship. It is a foray into the life of these controversial characters. It is said that every person is like a moon having a darker side which he never shows to anyone.

Prostitution – an age-old menace of human societies around the world. Men are responsible for the existence of this institution yet the woman is always humiliated, harassed and hurt. What an irony! From Mausam to Manto, from Chandni Bar to Chameli, from Chekhov to Chandrakant Bakshi… a lot of hyper-links popped up in mind while watching it. Bakshibabu has written that out of those four famous Varnas (categories) in Indian society i.e., Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishy and Shudra – Vaishy is the term for businessmen. Female counterpart of Vaishy is VESHYA (woman who sells her body to earn livelihood). However, business tycoons earn name and fame whereas their female counterpart…. No, the play does not intend to justify prostitution nor does it attempt to criminalize it. That’s the beauty of it. Without being judgmental, the plays uncovers under the carpet reality of the society. The plight of that character reminds me of classic words of Sahir Ludhianvi: - “औरत ने मर्द को जन्म दिया और मर्द ने औरत को बाज़ार दिया!”

It opens with a famous Rajasthani folk-song Kaga re Kaga re toh se itni araj mohe chun chun khaiyo maans, khaiyo na do naina inhe piya ke Milan ki aas  and of course the enchanting 'Aaj Jaane ki Zidd na Karo'. We later realize how significant it is with the thematic concerns. As the play is scheduled in Ahmedabad in near future, I must avoid spoilers. What should I write about first? Dialogues, performances, techniques, devices… It excels in almost all departments. Let’s take up stage-craft first.

With just one local train compartment on stage, the producers have presented numerous details. A purse, a bottle, a mobile phone and an umbrella –that’s it: with minimal use of stage-props the story has been depicted.

The play is replete with subtle satires and dramatic ironies. After being released from jail, the prostitute prays to Haji Ali for her bread and butter, she gets a job of phone sex and she says: - "BABA SAB KI SUNTA HAI RE!". She mentions a customer who used to remove all rings from fingers before going to bed with her, trying to befool God. She says she never does so because "WOH SAB KUCHH DEKHTA HAI" Imagine Shri Krishnah Sharanam Mamah as the ringtone of a prostitute’s phone.

Dialogues are not just powerful but piercing. A constable tells his senior:-

·       “Sir, who dhandhewali hai!” and senior replies:- “Hum sab dhandhewale hain!”

·       Tu pehla policewala hai jo dusre ko khilata hai!

·       Hum log ki dua bhi limited hoti hai

·       Jindagi par ujharda padta hoy ne tyare je chahero dekhay ne ae j sacho sambandh kehvay

Fascinating and hard-hitting dialogues are the USP of this play. Black humor and Sarcasm in every line help in creating an ambience. Fabulous one-liners are used to depict darker shades of human emotions.

The performances of Jayesh More and Jigna Vyas are truly commendable. Frankly speaking, in the first act I found Jigna ji's character being eclipsed by the talent of Mr. More despite the fact that major chunk of drama has been allotted to her. It is only in the second act that both of the actors show their true mettle. It becomes difficult to decide who's done it better but there is one situation in act II when Jayesh More's character reveals darkest secrets of his life that this brilliant actor rules the roost. Sound of sobs and Alas interjections suffice to convince us that he has delivered not just intense but overwhelming performance.

Admittedly, there are some minor dramatic anomalies such as that lady bites the man's left hand in anger and resentment but later the man ties a handkerchief on his right hand. However, amidst the incessant flow of emotions, nobody bothers to notice such negligible discrepancies. By the end of the first act, the pace of the play gets a bit slower but an unexpected dramatic happening nudges the audience to alertness. Fast-paced dialogue delivery in cocktail language of Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi and English may puzzle some spectators in the initial scenes.

One of the threats of dealing with such a bold subject is that if the team is even a bit less careful, the play may become loud or indecent (and some Gujarati comic plays are infamous for double-meaning dialogues and contents catering to the lowest common denominator). Luckily the team of 'Aaj Jaane ki Zid na Karo' has been very vigilant about it. I don’t mean to say that the drama has Sigma 6 perfection; there would be some drawback which I might have failed to notice. Being a novice in analyzing theatrical experiences, I may have missed out some lacuna in the play but by and large, it’s a paisa vasool experience.

Franz Kafka said:-

“Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book we are reading doesn’t shake us awake like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place? A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is what I believe.”

Here is one such literary work on stage. Just go for it.

Thanks.

-         Jay Mehta