Television script writer and satirist Anwar Maqsood seems smitten by the lure of the stage. Pawnay 14 August was the first time he tried his hand at theatre and he loved it.“The response to this medium is instant and I enjoy it very much,” he said. He is excited about his next project, Aangan Tehra, which starts on Feb 9.

The epic classic still lives on in the memories of the audience. “The story revolves around the life of an honest civil servant who lives in a quarter and strictly manages in his meagre income/pension,” he narrates. “I think we all can survive in our meagre incomes if we don’t open the door to our whims and material desires,” he adds. “That is when the problem starts.”

“I remember when the play was televised in the 1980s,” says Anwar, “I had all the actors paid equally; I believed that every single actor was a hero and heroine in Aangan Tehra.”

Anwar had been looking for young people to stage the play. “Many experienced directors approached me for the script but I wanted to emphasise that young blood should be encouraged to take this industry forward,” he said.

While a generation gap between the veteran Anwar Maqsood and the young director Dawar Mahmood could prove disruptive in terms of who would steer the ship, Anwar Maqsood confesses that he has left it to the directorial skills of Dawar. “Of course I have to have a first reading with the cast to emphasise words and delivery, but then the rest is the director’s call.”

Theatre buffs will be able to watch more of Anwar Maqsood’s stage plays in future. “I look forward to doing a play for children, entirely enacted by child artists,” he says. This is Anwar Maqsood’s contribution not only to boost theatre in the country but also to encourage the younger generation to make theatrics a lucrative career option. — S.S.N.