KARACHI: Jerome K. Jerome has an interesting character Uncle Podger in his famous story Three Men in a Boat. It’s a study of a man who likes to think he can do whatever is asked of him, sometimes even when no one seeks his counsel.

The writer layers the character with eccentricities that only humour can highlight. Imtiaz Ali Taj’s Urdu version of the character, Chacha Chhakkan, became very popular in the first half of the 20th century, and to date the very name evokes the image of a funny man with distinct mannerisms.

The play Chacha Chhakkan directed by Zarqa Naz, which was put up on Tuesday as part of the National Academy of Performing Arts’ (Napa) laughter festival, did present that image; and to be honest, Farhan Alam in the role of the Chacha did look the part every bit, getting a good response from the audience. But it has to be said that if the plot had been properly structured in the form of a story instead of a series of skits strung together, it would have had a far better impact. That said, Zarqa should not feel disappointed by this observation because she does have a knack for comedy, and in terms of the audience’s reaction to her effort, the play was very well-received.

The play opens with Chacha Chhakkan and one of his two servants Bundu (Syed Arsalan) in a conversation. In comes Maulvi Sahib (Danish Irshad) who wants a letter in English sent to him by someone translated into Urdu. Chhakkan, being Mr-Know-It-All, says it’s a cinch… and later on in the play makes a hash of it.

Chhakkan’s wife (Aasiya Alam) is the only character in the scheme of things that is not quirky. She tries, as much as she can, to stop Chhakkan from poking his nose into others’ affairs, to no avail. Consequently, not just him, but the entire family has to face the brunt of his uncalled-for actions.

There are some genuinely funny moments in Chacha Chhakkan, the foremost of which is the sequence in which the Chacha takes it upon himself to hang a picture on the wall and in the process engages every person present around him – servants and children – to get the job done. His clumsiness results in injuries to himself and others. To boot, it’s a tilted picture that gets nailed to the wall. All the actors did a fine job in making the sequence hilarious.

Chacha Chhakkan was also performed on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2018