Staging societal issues

Entertainment is the buzz word among the present youth and people spend a lot of time on entertainment to relax after a busy day or week. Warangal-based Khaja Pasha is mixing entertainment with social messages by staging many thought-provoking plays. Until today, he has directed four plays and has been awarded with nine Nandi Awards for his great contribution towards society through his plays.

Speaking with The Hans India, Khaja Pasha shared his tryst with the art.“I have been interested in cinema since my childhood and used to discuss a lot about movies with my siblings.

At that time, ace directors Dasari Narayana Rao and Raghavendra Rao’s movies were the reason that attracted my interest in movies. Telugu film director N Shankar comes to the film industry from my area and is the greatest inspiration for me to enter the industry. I did my Script Writing and Film Direction course from Telugu University,” said Khaja Pasha.

Until today, Khaja Pasha has directed plays including ‘Shapagrastulu’, ‘Gayatri d/o Basheer Ahmad’, ‘Chinta Barige Scheme’ and many more. His play Shapagrastulu won five Nandi awards in 2006 in various categories. Another play ‘Gayatri d/o Basheer Ahmad’ has won four Nandi awards.

“When the blast at Gokul Chats happened, a baby girl was crying at the spot looking for her parents. No one came forward to take the baby. Many media organisations also reported that the baby may belong to the Muslim community. One guy came forward to and took her home.

When I met him to inquire about the girl, he said his family condition enhanced after the girl’s entry. He also said many Muslim people came to him and threaten him for raising her in Hindu tradition. At that time, I decided to stage the story of this girl and did the play ‘Gayathri d/o Basheer Ahmed,” adds Khaja Pasha.

To encourage theatre arts, Khaja Pasha founded Deccan Theatre Scholars Association and Forever Art Theatres. He also did a play ‘Krushna Sagari’ that deals about the issues of conjoined twins and comparing them with the politics of AP and Telangana. He also did MPhil on ‘Plays of Yandamuri Veerendranath’ and was awarded gold medal from Telugu University.

He also worked as a scriptwriter and director for some Telugu movies. “Every play must have a great impact on society. I believe, giving a social message through plays workout well and reaches many. We can educate people on various issues of society by adding entertainment in the subject,”

Recently, he staged a play ‘Chinta Barige Scheme’ which explores the importance of Telangana dialect. He also plans to stage a play on current politics of India soon.