Bhatt at Elante Mall Chandigarh
Vinay Kumar
Chandigarh
Elante brings theatrical adaptation of ‘Daddy’ to
Tricity
Elante Mall, the region’s favourite hub for
shopping and entertainment, today struck an emotional chord with the audience
with a theatrical adaptation of celebrated filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's 1989
classic “Daddy”, moving the viewers to tears with its powerful
narrative. Mahesh Bhatt and his daughter Pooja Bhatt, who had made her
acting debut with “Daddy”, set the tone for the play with a heart-to-heart
conversation on why the film and its theatrical adaptation mean the world to
them in the light of the relationship they share. Directed by Dinesh
Gautam and scripted by Mahesh Bhatt himself, the play featured Delhi-based
actor and Mahesh Bhatt’s protégé Imran Zahid in the lead role, which was
enacted by Anupam Kher in the original film. Zahid has also played the lead
role in the stage adaption of another Bhatt classic, “Arth”. The
father-daughter duo, who were moved beyond words as they watched their own
characters come alive on the stage, described the play, which also featured
some stirring songs from the film sung by Talit Aziz, as “moving and sincere”.
The film was based on Mahesh Bhatt's battle with alcoholism and his turbulent
and complex relationship with his elder daughter Pooja. One of the filmmaker's
best friends, Anupam Kher, had played him on screen. Brilliantly adapted
for the stage, the play tugged at the hearts of the audience with its raw human
emotions and stark realities of life and captivated them with its memorable
dialogues and compelling storyline. While generally plays inspire movies, in
this case it was the other way round. The film and the play are based on
the story of a girl, Pooja, who has no recollection of her mother and father
and is told that her father had passed away. Eventually, she meets her father
and makes him overcome alcoholism. The story revolves around the complex
relationship between Pooja and her father Anand Sareen, a former music legend
who she had not met since birth as she was brought up by her grandparents
following the untimely and mysterious death of her mother. When Pooja meets her
father, she realises that he is not the monster her grandfather had made him
out to be, but was undoubtedly an alcoholic who badly needed help. Curing her
father of alcoholism then becomes the sole mission of Pooja’s life. The
play “Daddy”, first staged at New Delhi in 2014, 25 years after the release of
the film, had also premiered in Pakistan at the International Theatre Festival
2015 organised by the National Academy of Performing Arts,
Karachi. “Daddy” happens to be the fourth theatrical adaptation of Mahesh
Bhatt’s films, the previous three being “The Last Salute”, “Arth” and “Trial of
Errors”. It was actor Imran Zahid who had come up to Bhatt with the idea of
adapting his films into plays. Commenting on Elante’s initiative to stage
the poignant and moving play based on one of Mahesh Bhatt’s best known
works, Elante Mall Executive Director Mr Anil Malhotra said, “It
has been our constant endeavour to give our patrons something new every time
they come to Elante. We have been known for delivering a unique experience
thorough our offerings other than shopping. The idea behind organising this
play is to offer our patrons an experience of classic theatre. We are thankful
to the living legend Mr Mahesh Bhatt and Ms Pooja Bhatt for gracing the event
and making it a truly memorable one.”......
