By Faizan Hussain
Madeeha Gauhar
Madeeha Gauhar, the driving force behind Ajoka theatre, has dedicated her life to fight against social injustices and for the betterment of Pakistani society. Starting her career in performing art since her early days she has faced many ups and downs in her career. She faced baton charges and even arrested twice. In the very beginning of her career she opted to oppose the oppressive policies of General Zia’s rule. When there was a strong censorship on TV plays and stereo type plays, representing only one aspect of life, were played on PTV she formed Ajoke theatre to give vent to suffocating emotions of the society and to present something which was the demand of the hour.
Recollecting some of her past life she told Sunday Plus in an interview that she was very active from her school days in organising events. When she reached at college level, she started to participate in plays. In her graduation at Kinnaird College she worked as president of the Najmuddin Dramatic Society. It was there her skills as an actress were honed. And when she was completing her Master degree in English Literature from Government College Lahore, her first TV serial “Zangeer” was played. But she added that since her student life she was more interested in theatre than to work in TV plays. “Theatre was always my passion which I always concentrated. I did not want to act in typical plays of that time.
“That is why after completing my studies I started Ajoka theatre with the help of a few people. Its purpose was to give vent to ourselves through theatre and to present a good and meaningful theatre which would not controlled by the government. That is how Ajoka started its journey in 1983 and in 1984 it gave its first performance in “Jaloos”. It was a political play written by Badal Sircar and was performed in a house lawn because there were tough censorship laws and it could not be presented in any hall or auditorium,” she said.
When asked that from where she got the courage of addressing those issues which were considered as taboo at that time, she traced its roots in her domestic atmosphere in which she was brought up. “My mother was a fearless journalist who used to write articles for Punjab Times and Punjab Punch which were banned later on. She was a dedicated socialist, committed human rights activist and an untiring social worker. I was inspired by her. I was also taught to speak the truth and to not to be afraid of anyone. When I started Ajoka, I practiced it,” she explained.
She lost her job as a lecturer at Government College Samanabad because of Ajoka’s political plays. She was also arrested twice in Zia’a era. “I was the part of women’s movement started in General Zia’s time. The movement was against the unjust and discriminatory laws against women and I used to participate in protests against those laws. First I was arrested for the sin of protesting. Second time I was arrested in MRD movement,” she said.
Telling about her 28 years of struggle for theatre she said that she was happy that the audience have increased over the years. “There is awareness among the people and they want to see good theatre. Not everyone wants to see stupidity on stage. Now Ajoka has a very wide range of audience ranging from the elite to the common man of street which includes students, intellectuals, working class etc. Earlier we did not have means to advertise but now people are more aware about Ajoka through the Internet and social media like Facebook. We also have a big audience in India as well,” she said.
Sharing some of details about the actors, Gauhar said that Ajoka is an organised group. “Ajoka is well-organised group and most of its actors are regular. We pay them small amount for their performances besides their travelling allowance for rehearsals. Sometimes we also have to hire professional actors like Mujahid Kamaran, Asim Bukhari,” She said.
When inquired about the time span required for preparation of a play she answered that normally it required four to six weeks. “At least one month to six weeks required for rehearsal; but it is not a full day rehearsal because mostly people are working or studying. We rehearse in the evening for four hours daily and minimum it takes one month for preparation,” she stated.
About writers, she said that she had one playwright and that is her husband Shahid Nadeem. “I think he is the best theatre writer in Pakistan and we are fortunate that he is writing for Ajoka because there is no stage playwright in Pakistan. Sometimes we think about some topic on which there should be a play and Shahid writes that play for us. Besides we also do some plays of world theatre,” she answered.
Telling about favourite plays she named ‘Bullha’ and ‘Aik Thee Nani’. “People liked Bullha very much. Similarly, Aik Thee Nani became very popular. It was inspired by a true story of two sisters Zohra Sehgal and Uzra Butt. After partition Uzra moved to Pakistan and Zohra stayed back. The play was first performed in 1993. And because of this play the two sisters met with each other after decades. It is also one of my favourite plays,” she said.
Discussing her inclination towards film industry she replied that she loved to watch movies but as for as production is concerned, she was single minded to focus on Ajoka. “Even though Ajoka has a production unit and my husband has been making documentaries. But it is not important to focus on many things – theatre and films. Good films should be made. Even my son, Nervaan, has done his graduation in film making from NCA,” she said.
Sharing her views about teaching theatre she said that she could hardly find any time for that. “BNU is the only institution which has a theatre department and I have been asked to teach there but I can not do that because of shortage of time. In future if I will be able to spare some time then I shall teach,” She said.
Taking decades of theatre experience Madeeha Gauhar has become an institution in herself. She is not only well-aware of modern and past theatre trends but also has a keen eye on society and its every changing aspect. She is fully focused on her cause to bring a positive change in society for which she leaves no stone unturned. She is a brave woman who always faced unsupportive attitude of the government and negative criticism boldly. She has become a source of inspiration for the young generation.
(The interview was conducted in June, 2012)
faizan hussain 