Hyderabad: The 41st anniversary of Hyderabad’s theatre legend Qadir Ali Baig and 20 years of Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation were celebrated with the play ‘Sunset-Sunrise’ at Radisson Blu on Sunday evening.
Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation is run by his son, Mohammed Ali Baig, a Padma Shri recipient and screen actor-director
In its 20 years of celebrations, the foundation highlights topical issues currently faced in Indian households.
Sunset-Sunrise is one such endeavour, a play centered around ‘empty-nest-syndrome’, senior citizens coping with technology, and finally adapting to it.
The story of every household
The play captures the affluent in India who drive their children to fulfill their dollar dreams as they had struggled all their lives for financial stability.
Actress Rashmi Seth playing the role of mother is convincing as she takes the audience from her journey as a young bride to that of managing an Indian joint family and finally working towards sending off her son to pursue the dollar dream in the United States of America.
Seth dwells on her journey of coping with technology and how learning digital skills is quite a challenge, but once adapted, how senior citizens master it is beautifully portrayed.
Son in the USA
Mohammed Ali Baig plays the role of the son in the USA who, against his desires, becomes a computer engineer and carries the burden of his unfulfilled dreams. The rollercoaster life in the USA, from managing the kitchen to children, is so demanding that removing time for themselves or for extended family in India is quite a task.
The dilemma of a son whose unfilled dreams of becoming an athlete, to be close to his parents in their ‘sunset’ time, has been beautifully portrayed.
Emotional play
The play takes the audience through an emotional journey where they are able to resonate with the happenings around them in their family. It is a closely-knit family story with three characters: actress Rashmi Seth as mother, son as Mohammed Ali Baig, and father as Vijay Prasad. Prasad, who has a small role in the family role is powerful as he portrays a government officer whose life is spent in meeting the needs of the family and working towards financial security.
A twist in the story comes with a rather hopeful note as mother Rashmi Seth masters technology and blends it with the traditional family business.
The ending of the play shows that at sunset, too, there is sunrise for those who strive and adapt. The son in the USA is not only surprised but rather taken aback by this bold and unexpected move.
60 minutes of reflection and hope
The 60-minute play was so gripping that it held the audience in their seats. Hope, as they say, is the way forward, and ‘Sunset Sunrise’ portrayed that one must never say die.
