Juhi Babbar Soni Brings Generations Together In Poignant New Play 'A Love Story 1938–1979'
Juhi Babbar Soni’s journey with her new play, an Ekjute Theatre production, was both intensely personal and terrifyingly chaotic as, within a month, it underwent a “crazy metamorphosis”. It began as Meri Maa Ke Haath on January 25, as a curtain raiser at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Festival, with Juhi wanting to present a different take on a poem her mother, Nadira Zaheer Babbar, had written, then performed on stage, as a tribute to her mother, Razia Sajjad Zaheer, the best teacher her four daughters could have asked for.
“Since I had recently undergone an eye surgery, it was supposed to be dramatized reading. But I ending up performing it, stumping my light man who had expected me to simply stand in one place and read,” laughs the actress, who while gearing for the premiere at Prithvi Theatre on March 1, then went on to flummox her husband, actor Anup Soni, suddenly waking up around midnight on February 11 and announcing that she was changing everything, from the narrative to the title. Fortunately, Prithvi’s server was down so the original poster had not gone up. “That’s a blessing from God I exclaimed, making Anup wonder what kind of a title that was,” she laughs.
Her team however was not laughing when she informed them that she was going to incorporate excerpts from her aunt Noor Zaheer’s book, Syaahi Ki Ek Boond, and their research into her mother’s poem/play, turning a daughter’s tribute to her mother into the love story of a husband and wife, the man driven by his love for his country and the woman loving him for it. “Ma’am how are you going to do it with the premiere just weeks away?” they wailed, echoing Anup, as Juhi turned into a whirlwind of frenzied activity. Writing, editing, supervising the set design, working on costume and music, deciding on the lights, rehearsing and memorizing reworked lines…
Eventually, overwhelmed, she made an SOS call to Makarand Deshpande, who had directed Meri Maa Ke Haath, with a request that he direct A Love Story: 1938-1979 too. “He was out of town, but agreed, warning that he could only give me four days for rehearsals. What we hadn’t anticipated was that a special tribute to the late tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, who had performed and curated the Prithvi Theatre Memorial Concert to mark Jennifer Kapoor’s birthday for the last four decades, would mean we would have to go into the first show without even a single technical rehearsal,” Juhi shares.
While her mother took the changes in her stride, telling her, “Do whatever feels right to you,” her father, actor-politician Raj Babbar, who had idolized his father-in-law, poet- political writer Sajjad Zaheer, even though they had never met, warned her not to play around with his image. Juhi didn’t dare confide that she was still working on the script.
He was at the 5 pm premiere show on March 1 despite a racking cough, wondering how long the performance would be. “Around 90-95 minutes,” she mumbled, unsure of the exact runtime, nervously entreating her grandmother to give her the strength and courage the play celebrates to pull it off.
Despite her apprehensions, the overwhelming response from the audience assured her she had gambled and won. Joyously, Juhi invited her mother and son Imaan to join her grandmother’s spirit and her on stage. Finally, she turned to her father whose approval means so much to her. “I just want to tell you I was wrong, you have created a wonderful play,” he told her emotionally, and the tears she had been holding back flowed. “Why are you crying so much?” he asked, and when Juhi admitted she couldn’t control her emotions after his praise, smiled, “Now go, do a better show.”
The 8 pm show on the same day was attended by Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar whom Juhi had hesitatingly invited, admitting she was short on prep. “They assured me that since it was about my grandparents, they would be there. They loved it too, my parents loved it, the audience loved it, what can be a bigger high!” she exults, back on stage the next day with another play, With Love, Aap Ki Saiyaara, which has set a new record with 116 shows in 40-plus cities across India. “Saiyaara is a modern woman, very different from Razia, who’s from another era, in her look, body language, thoughts and life’s journey. Yet both are extraordinary women and it’s great to have them inside me because they add so much to Juhi,” she asserts.
On Saturday, March 12, she had another unplanned show of her new play when a shoot got pushed forward. The response was amazing and she’s now looking forward to taking her grandparents’ story to a larger audience in June, with shows already booked for June 6 and 15. “Love is timeless,” she asserts.
Has this play changed her definition of love? Admitting the once romantic girl has sobered with age, Juhi says love today means responsibility to the person you are with, reminding you that in 27 years of marriage, her grandparents lived together for just 10 years, yet remained steadfastly committed to each other. She lauds her own husband for bearing with her these last few months, even typing stuff for her when shaken awake at night. “Today, Anup is very happy for me,” she beams.
news