KARACHI: Satire writer and artist Anwar Maqsood’s latest theatre offering Kyun Nikala, to be staged on Aug 13, was introduced at a press conference at the Arts Council of Pakistan here on Thursday.

“I must clarify here,” said Anwar Maqsood, “that I have been working on this play since last year and I gave it its title last year also, much before Mr Sharif turned it into a slogan though my play, which is also written against the backdrop of an election, is actually about a Bengali cook working for Chaudhry Sahib, a big politician, who gets fired from his job.”

Sharing a few amusing bits from his play, Anwar Maqsood said the cook is concerned that he doesn’t have a CNIC that would allow him to vote in the elections.

“Then Chaudhry Sahib, who had breezed through the past three elections, winning from the Shahi Mohalla, wants the party to change his constituency because all his flames have left the Mohalla and shifted to posh localities. With them no longer there, who would vote for him now?” he chuckled.

More sneak previews of hilarious moments in the play shared by the writer include Chaudhry Sahib’s wife’s name. She is named Mehmooda but is known as Modi. There is also the NAB about which there is the verse of Ghalib ‘Aate hain ghaib se ...’ that has been twisted to ‘Aate hain NAB se ...’. When NAB officials question Chaudhry about his second wife, he tells them that she is not his wife. And that only her rukhsati has taken place for now, the nikah is yet to be performed. Then when the cook finally gets to vote and gets his form to put the stamp on, he says that there needs to be a box under all the candidates which says ‘none of the above’.

Anwar Maqsood also said that he has signed a contract with the Arts Council and his director that not a single dialogue of his would be changed in any way.

The director of the play, Dawar Mehmood, meanwhile, said that he was very happy to be working with Anwar Maqsood again. He said Kyun Nikala was a 90-minute play with a completely new cast who have already started rehearsals. “I have directed other plays of AM too. His plays are like cinema item numbers, always a hit! Still, this time he is in more form than Brian Lara, Majid Khan and Sachin Tendulkar,” he said.

Ahmed Shah, president of the Arts Council, said that he was glad that Anwar Maqsood had returned with a new play after three-and-a-half years.

“During this while Dawar has worked with other playwrights too but his and Anwar Maqsood’s has always been a winning combination. No one writes political satire like Anwar Maqsood. He is simply fascinating. And everyone had been waiting for his next play. I am already getting calls with requests for passes and tickets for Kyun Nikala,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2018