Parsi natak, jivto reh

 By Reema Gehi, Mumbai Mirror | Aug 31, 2014, 12.28 AM IST

That evening, five more Parsi-Gujarati plays – Sam Kerawalla’s Hasa Has, Dinyar Contractor’s Bhaag Bawa Bhaag, Dinyar Tirandaz’s Darling Humna Nai, Vistasp Gotla’s Savaksa Ni Sex Badlai and Cyrus Dastur’s Havey Mane Joi Lav – were performed across venues.

This was a first in many years, says Contractor, a veteran who has made generations of Parsis leave the auditorium smiling in time for their salli boti dinner on Pateti. “It is like a revival of some sort,” he smiles, glad that the myth of Parsi theatre losing its grip is being challenged – this time, by young stage talent.

The 74-year-old, whose Dinyar Contractor Productions, collaborated with Jim Vimadalal to stage Bhaag Bawa Bhaag on Navroze and the Parsi-Gujarati-Hinglish adaptation of Derek Benfield’s Touch and Go in June, says the young lot bring with them sleek production values and the ability to market theatre. “The onus to take Parsi theatre forward is now on them,” he says, highlighting a movement that theatre stalwarts believe has well begun.

It’s a serious responsibility Contractor refers to, considering the Parsis are credited with launching the modern theatre movement in India in the 1850s, influenced largely by European drama.

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