LAHORE: A good number of theatre lovers came to see the play Nehlay Pay Dehla at Alhamra Art Centre, The Mall, on Wednesday on the second day of the festival.

The six-day festival is being held in connection with the Independence Day celebrations and has been organised by Lahore Arts Council.

On Wednesday, Jug Sudhaar Society staged Nehlay Pay Dehla. The play has been written by Saeed Anjum and directed by Zaheer Taaj.

Director Mr Taaj told Dawn that Nehlay Pay Dehla was an adaptation of a play written some four decades ago by Ramesh Mehta. “The play has been staged several times by different theatre groups in the last 40 years and leading artistes have performed in it,” said Taaj.

The three-act play in Punjabi language had duration of some two hours or so. The story of the play revolves around two female friends who happen to meet after a long time after their marriages. They tell lies to each other about their lifestyles and make tall claims, keeping on deceiving about their financial status and finally truth prevails and wins over falsehood.

The music was recorded and the play also carried two music pieces according to the situation of the play. One was a Punjabi number Peeplan Di Chahwain and the other Dekha Jo Chehra Tera. The set was original and depicted the scene of a drawing room and was tastefully decorated.

The cast included Afzaal Nabi, Zaohaib Haider, Tanveer Khalid, Zulfiqar Ahmed, Isha Malik, Aimen and Amber. The audience fully enjoyed the theatrical production and were generous in the rounds of applause.

Jug Sudhar Society, according to Zaheer Taaj, was founded some nine years ago. Its first theatrical production was Lal Chuna, which was staged at Alhamra Cultural Complex, Gaddafi Stadium. Taaj said the society had for the first time staged Nehlay Pay Dehla.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2019