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He does not merely tickle your funny bone. He makes you have a hearty laugh, and in most cases belly laughs. At other times he makes his fans guffaw with complete abandon. And this he does by witty one-liners and puns with multiple meanings. To boot, all of this is not done for the heck of it—his words are steeped in humour which stems out of pain, albeit imperceptible, caused by society’s retarded intellectual and sociopolitical movement.
Anwar Maqsood has been writing satire-laden comedy for television for a little more than four decades. He is arguably the most celebrated and recognised comedy writer. There is a huge cache of hit TV shows to his credit, some of which have attained the status of classics. But for some strange reason, the writer never tried his hand at writing for theatre. So it came as a pleasant surprise when news regarding his first stage production broke. As expected, the title of the project had the typical Anwar Maqsood imprint on it: Pawnay 14 August.
“I had never written a play for stage for obvious reasons. The kind of stuff that I used to watch in the name of theatre in Karachi and Lahore (mainstream comedy theatre) never made me feel like going for it. On the other hand, at Napa they mostly do translations which I personally don’t find enjoyable. One more point, there are Russells, Elliots and Agha Hashrs in the academy.
“A few months back these young men (Dawar Mehmood and his team) showed up at my place and requested me to pen a script for them. Giving it a bit of consideration, I came up with the idea of Pawnay 14 August. After all, the future belongs to the younger lot.”
What exactly is Pawnay 14 August? Though, by the sound of it, it is understandable that it is a project brimming with political overtones screamed out in a rip-roaring dialogic exchange. Anwar Maqsood explains, “The setup is that Quaid-i-Azam, Allama Iqbal and Maulana Shaukat Ali are all at the airport waiting lounge to fly to Islamabad and take part in the Aug 14 celebrations.
As usual the flight has been delayed for an indefinite period. The airline is called Shaheen and the dilemma is that Iqbal ka shaheen urr nahin pa raha (Iqbal’s falcon is unable to take off), a profound pun pointing to not just the country’s aviation crisis but also the manner in which the national poet has been treated in the country).
He gives the synopsis of the play, which includes members of present political parties making their appearance (without their prominent leaders, only one of them features in the drama). It goes without saying it is hilarious and thought-provoking at the same time, with sensitive issues such as the Dhaka Fall touched upon in a subtle manner, and a young boy providing a glimmer of hope at the end of it all. We should not be giving away the story of Pawnay 14 August, for it will dilute the fun of those who wish to see it.
Writing for television for such a long time and then producing a script for the tricky world of stage must’ve been a huge technical shift. “If you are watching television, you have the option to change the channel or switch it off. As a writer you have time. On stage, however, you cannot drop the curtains at will. There’s audience watching you. So it’s different,” argues Anwar.
Anwar Maqsood has worked with TV stalwarts. How could he have handed over his script brimming with innuendos, puns and epigrams to a young director? “Well, I went to one of his rehearsals and observed that they were doing a good job,” he says with a fair degree of certitude.
A lot of people must’ve put this question to Anwar Maqsood, ‘How do you manage to keep your wit razor-sharp?’ His simple answer is, “Writing comedy is like walking on the edge of a sword. The thing is people don’t read. I can bet you, none of our actors read books or have books in their houses. It is very important to read.” And yet, he has his readily noticeable unique style.
With the advent of cable TV, suddenly a great many comedy writers (young and not-so-young) have emerged. Some have been doing the same show for a number of years at the cost of repeating their gags and jokes. A majority of comedy programmes on TV tend to become repetitive and predictable. “With comedy you need to know when to stop a certain gag. In the entire course of my life I have never made fun of real-life characters. Instead I would use generic terms like ‘tashreef latay hain minister sahib,’ and the like. There comes a point when these things stop having the requisite effect and writers should understand that,” he asserts.
Another reason that sets Anwar Maqsood apart is his love of Urdu literature, particularly poetry. He is a huge admirer of Mir Taqi Mir. Where does he stand on the Mir-Ghalib supremacy issue? “Ghalib had a lot of benefactors. He led a pretty comfortable life. Mir, on the other hand, had to fend for himself.” His admiration tinged with pain for Mir is understandable. Does he read contemporary Urdu poetry? “I think the group of poets comprising Naseer Turabi, Jamal Ehsani and a few others could not have come to the fore had there not been Shakaib Jalali.” He quotes a number of couplets by Jalali in support of his argument.
When you converse with the writer you realise why he is what he is or has become: Anwar Maqsood recalls his past. “I still remember when we lived in PIB Colony. I wanted to draw but I never used to have the colours to paint. I would use chalk and charcoal to draw pictures on the walls. Shakir Ali lived nearby and one day he saw me and gave me colours to paint. I began painting and did my first exhibition in the late ’50s. Jamshed Marker bought a majority of my exhibits on display,” Maqsood recalls with genuine fondness.
Pawnay 14 August opened at the Karachi Arts Council yesterday
Dawar Mahmood: “I’m a huge fan of both Anwar Maqsood and Moin Akhtar. I used to do theatre in Islamabad and it was my earnest desire to work with Anwar Maqsood. So when I came to Karachi and by chance someone told me that I just happened to pass by Maqsood’s house, I made it a point to ring his doorbell and say hello. Once I befriended him I requested him to pen a play for me. After a little while he relented.” — P.S.
