BySukant Deepak

December 04, 2021 (IANSlife) Veteran theatre director MK Raina has finished a film script about his family’s forced exodus from Kashmir when militancy erupted in the valley in the 1980s. "It is about what my family and hundreds of others had to face. Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra has shown an interest in it. Now let’s see who directs it--either him or me. If I don’t, I’ll be acting in it, "he tells IANS.

In fact, Raina has been quite busy lately, working in different mediums such as OTT, film, and theatre. The director recently wrapped up an OTT series in which he acted, signed a film with Rajat Kapur and is working on his book on the indigenous theatre of Kashmir.

Speaking on the sidelines of the recently concluded Mahindra Kabira Festival in Varanasi, where the classic play ‘Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein', directed by him decades back, was reimagined as a rock opera by Dastaan Live, Raina feels that whenever the younger generation reinterprets a production, it ignites new ideas, lends multiple dimensions, brings to light new thoughts, and poses fresh questions to the audience. Raina asserts that "exactly why it is important to keep our minds open to reinterpretation and reimagination."

Adding that circumstances change, new ideas form and never-before scenarios erupt in society from time to time, he adds, "The images you created a long time back may not be understood or relatable now." Let us not forget that time and space are paramount for artists—after all, this is where we "play." So many revivals that were revived without changing anything fell flat. It is important that contemporary India and the world be reflected in the artwork.

The director, who has been going and staying in Kashmir for months for the past 20 years, working with urban and rural theatre artists there, says, "It was impossible for me to abandon my people. Initially, I worked with urban artists and later with Kashmiri folk artists (Bhands), where I got better results. "

He remembers the Bhands being in terrible shape, with some people beating them up regularly and tearing their costumes and masks. They had not performed for a decade before he got in touch with them. Many militant groups there consider such acts "unIslamic."

They started crying when they saw that someone had come to meet and work with them. I started training their children from scratch---introducing them to their folk. I did old work with them for four to five years and then decided there was a need to do something new. There was this excellent young actor among them, and we took a year to adapt King Lear with multiple improvisations. In the end, the Bhands made it their own, "Raina says about the play that has been staged in Kashmir, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, the North-East, and Maharastra.

He is now hoping that something permanent can be created for the Bhands---an institution that undertakes historic and performance research and ensures earnings for them. He says, "I am focusing on my book on the indigenous theatre of Kashmir nowadays."

For someone who believes in culture as a great healing power, especially in conflict zones, the director smiles, "It plays a role in insulating live electrical wires. We have to know how to insulate." We do not have a choice. "

Lamenting that, unlike in the west, performances were yet to open here fully, the director is not really a fan of the digital medium, which saw artists from different disciplines make it their own during the lockdowns. "You need public places as a therapy for communities. That can’t be replaced. Don’t we all need catharsis, especially in these trying times? "Digital just cannot match up with the real live thing.

Pointing towards a lack of original playwrights in the country, the director says that it is high time that state and central akademis start working towards it and organise workshops, seminars, and meetings of young writers. Nobody is ready to create seeds, and that is really sad. Why do you think I take up short stories many times and dramatise them for stage productions?" concludes Raina, who now wants to work on Sanskrit classics.

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