LAHORE: The irresistible Naseeruddin Shah and Ismat Chughtai will soon be getting together in Lahore to paya two-evening tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz, organised by the Faiz Foundation.

At Alhamra Centre on Dec 1, Mr Shah will be joined by his wife, Ratna Pathak Shah, and their daughter Hiba Shah to present a medley of three short plays based on Ismat Chughtai’s short stories. It will be followed by a similar composition of another set of plays based on the stories by the famous writer the following evening.

These will be solo performances each of the three Shahs. They will be acting as the narrators of as well as playing the various characters in the story.Entitled ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’, it will be a joint offering by the Faiz Foundation Trust and Mumbai’s Motley Company. The event is being organised to raise funds for Faiz Ghar, the museum and cultural centre run by the Faiz Foundation Trust in Model Town. Entry will be by invitation.

The Shahs and their theatre team are scheduled to arrive in Lahore on Nov 28.

During his stay here, Mr Shah will also address film and theatre students of NCA and BNU.

The ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ medley originally came about to celebrate Ismat Chughtai (1915-1991). It has since been staged in India and abroad to critical acclaim.

Directed by Naseeruddin Shah, it is produced by Jairaj Patil. The music is composed by renowned musician and film director Vishal Bharadwaj and the lighting for the Lahore performance will be done by Darshan Gandas.

Naseeruddin Shah has sent a special message to mark the occasion, which says: “Mumbai’s Motley Company is delighted to be performing the play ‘Ismat Apa Ke Naam’ in Lahore for the benefit of Faiz Foundation. …we are proud to pay tribute through them to … Faiz Ahmed Faiz Sahib and are honoured to be associated with his name, one of the unifying factors among our two countries. We also welcome this opportunity to reach out to student audiences and theatre lovers in Pakistan.”