When he’s not practising as a physician at Saifee Hospital, 25-year-old Dr Zaheer Shaikh writes and directs plays and composes music for them.
“When one is passionate about something, one automatically finds time for it,” Shaikh says. His first theatre venture, Anjor-Kaaya, a musical about a wish-granting fountain, was recently staged at the Rangsharda Auditorium, Iskcon temple and Sophia College. Shaikh wrote the script of the play between consultations at the hospital, and composed the music while commuting to work by local train.
Shaikh stumbled upon the idea while listening to Bryan Adam’s song, Life is an open street. Every person has different ideas and needs, he thought, and the story is about their dreams coming true. “I had seen a movie that had a wish-granting tree in it. I combined both elements in my play,” says Shaikh, who works as a volunteer with the Humsafar Trust, an HIV-AIDS NGO.
He used a social networking site to find his crew members, who are also working professionals (engineers, architects, doctors and fashion designer), passionate about theatre. “I posted advertisements on community pages and started getting a good response,” he says.
Engineer Arfi Lamba plays the lead role of Anjor, which means the first ray of the new moon. “I play a statue which comes back to life and fulfils people’s wishes,” Lamba says.
Juhi Rai, assistant director and actress in the play, is the founder of a creative agency. “I play two different characters — one of a young, blind girl and the other of a middle-aged maid,” she informs.
The crew finished rehearsing for the play in 28 days, and is looking forward to making more comedies and realistic plays. Shaikh says they are planning to stage the play again at the end of the month. “We have put in a lot of hard work and are looking forward to doing more plays,” concludes Rai.
