KARACHI: “I am a Muslim who recognises that other religions have value,’’ said the character of Dara Shikoh, the son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the British adaptation of Pakistani epic drama, Dara, originally produced by the Ajoka Theatre four years ago. The first South Asian play staged at the National Theatre in London was screened by the Aga Khan University as part of their Sixth Sense Forum lecture series on Thursday.

Dara provides a speculative view of the history shared by India, Pakistan and Britain as it presents a compelling narrative of the decline of the Mughal Empire with particular focus to Aurangzeb’s era of power. The play, rewritten by British writer Tanya Ronder and produced by Anwar Akhtar, emphasises the aspect of multiplicity in Islam. The distinctive plot attempts at redefining the character of Aurangzeb from an exalted Islamic role model to a victim of Islamic radicalism. Dara, his brother, who is historically presented as an unworldly heretic in South Asia, is reinvented as an advocate of Sufism and believer in coexistence.

“What is the best part of Islam? To offer food and say Salam to those you know and those you don’t, replied the Prophet (PBUH),’’ explained Dara while being tried for apostasy. While the trial scene captured the most attention, the audience was speculative of its authenticity. Despite the playwright’s liberty to tweak the script according to the plot themes, a few members of the audience in the auditorium accused the team of presenting a fabricated version of the original history. “Dara was never given a trial, he was directly persecuted!” said an avid reader of historical texts in the crowd.

Dara pulled the right chords with regard to the debate of inter-faith variations of Islam and the lack of understanding of Sufi Islam in the East. However, due to the presentation of Aurangzeb’s character as a fundamentalist and heroic vilification of Dara, the content appears challenging for the local audience.

“The play was greeted with a better response in Britain. The Indian community in Britain enjoyed the script as much as the Muslims there and so Dara has actually achieved a lot more than just entertainment,’’ said producer Anwar Akhtar at the screening.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2016