ISLAMABAD: The second play in the week-long Youth Drama Festival was staged at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) by Comsats students on Tuesday night.

The setting was a Mughal court, where the young prince Saleem is seen getting frustrated over the turmoil in his love life. To get away, he decides to hop onto his time machine and travel to the future, a decision he later regrets.

The play titled ‘Ibtida-e-Ishq’, featuring 18 hilarious characters, had the audience members in fits until the end.

The script had been cleverly crafted by Saad Sultan, an international relations student. Although humorous, the play highlights how social morals and ethics have deteriorated over the centuries.

Sultan depicts how people today have become immune to the horrors of their world. He also manages to create an appreciation for the Mughal era generally seen as a time of moral degradation.

Packed with music and dance, the old-fashioned, script-driven comedy provided an evening of fun. Jokes are abound as the prince, accompanied by his trusted general Man Singh, first lands in the era of folk characters Heer, Ranjha and then in the 60s where he witnesses the love between film stars Shabnam and Nadeem.

However, in each era he lands in, he finds himself disappointed by what he sees.

Finally, the prince lands in 2015, where the horrors make him wish he had never left his own time. The materialism and moral corruption, he witnesses, make him appreciate all that he has left behind in his century. He says that in his time, at least love mattered more than material wealth.

The strong dialogues delivered by the prince in this scene summarise the message that the audience members took home with them.

Most members of the audience were Comsats students who appreciated the acting skills demonstrated by their colleagues. Some young audience members liked Prince Salim’s performance the best and others said Ranjha’s character was the funniest.

A member of the audience, Muhammad Ahmad, said the play created a balance between humour and the serious social message, it hoped to deliver.

Another audience member, Araj said the actor playing Ranjha had great control over his facial expressions.

All actors, whether it was Taha Humayun as Prince Salim, Wasim Khan who played Man Singh or Muhammad Qasim who played the role of Ranjha brought great energy to the production.

The play was directed by Hadia Ahmed, who established the theatre society at Comsats last year.

“We saw so much talent and creativity at our campus that we decided to channel it towards theatre,” she said.

On Wednesday, students of Preston University will perform ‘Dyota’ at 7pm.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play