Metropolis, 2009
Mumbai, which is being held hostage by terrorists who attacked the Taj Mahal Hotel on 26/11/08. The play begins with Nora Helmer of Norway, opening her door into the tumultuous, apocalyptic city of Mumbai. With this gesture of her leaving her home, she enters our play, our country, and proceeds to discover a new destiny for herself. Nora/Noora’s move towards freedom is echoed in strident tones by Rukkaiya/ Rebecca West, who publicly confesses her ‘crime’ of sending Beate/ Butool to her suicide, in a bid to live in free love. Meanwhile Illias Ali Beg, the Eilert Lovborg of Hedda Gabler, ignites a spirit of liberation through his newly published writings on sexual freedom in a future Islamic world. Towering above them all stands Ramzan Ali/ John Rosmer, once a cleric, who publicly announces his loss of faith in Islam. The political repercussions of his statement…ignites an already volatile situation, where right wing forces are at work in Mumbai. All these Ibsen characters have been transformed into Indian Muslims, making their actions and choices appear as bold political statements in the current scenario, where the tenants of Islam are open to question. The blaze of the Mumbai fire then is a metaphor. While destroying the past, it at the same time, ignites new ideas of a future freedom.
Duration : 1 hr. 45 mins
Hindi with supertitles in English
Metropolis, 2009, was comissioned by the Delhi IBSEN Festival, 2009. It has so far only been performed in Delhi
Cast and Credits
Ramzan Ali: Jayanta Das
Rukkaiya hussain: Swaroopa Ghosh
Karim: Pradeep Kuckreja
Manorama: Salima Raza
Politicians: Dev N. Pathak, Tarique Hameed,
Sukhangshu Chatterjee
hadda Gauhar: Kusum Haidar
usman Mirza: Sukhangshu Chatterjee
Barkat Ali: Avtar Sahni
Illiyas: Happy Ranajit
Diya Anees: Savita Valecha
Noora: Natasha Rastogi
Haseena: Sonam Kalra
Tourist: Anne Kokkinn
Dancers: Pritpal Singh, Dheeraj Kumar, Umesh Lubhana, Aparajita Sarma, Jaiti Khera, Riddhika Singh, Tanvi
Back Stage
Scenography/Lighting Design: Nissar Allana
Script: Amal Allana, Oda Radoor, Shoumyabrata Chowdhury And The Cast
Translation: Salima Raza
Dramaturgs: Oda Radoor, Shoumyabrata Choudhury
Choreography: Gilles Chuyen
videographic Compilation/Editing: Nupur Mathur
Songs/Lyrics: Madan Gopal Singh
Sound Design/Enginering: Gaurav Chintamani, Sidhant Mathur
Sound Operation: Divya Malhotra
Costume Design: Amal Allana
Costume Stylist: Surubhi
Costume Assistants: Manasi, Ruhani, Babita
Make up: Javed, Khare
Stage Manager: Savita Valecha
Properties: Sukhangshu Chatterjee
Camera: Tarun Ghosh, Avinash, Shridhar
Shooting Supervisor: Anastasia Isachsen
Set Construction: Prem Chand Dhiman
Set Supervisor: Avtar Sahni
Light Assistant: Lal Sahab Mishra
Tailoring: New Prominent Tailors, Manoj
Direction: Amal Allana
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