‘Heer-Ranjha’ season in Pakistan

Seems like this is the season of the Punjabi folk legend of Heer-Ranjha. On the one hand, we have award-winning TV and film actor Ahsan Khan playing the role of the doomed hero on London stage in a Serendip Production, back home Zindagi Gulzar Hai-famed Sanam Saeed just wrapped up her final performance as Heer in a Zain Ahmad-directed theatre play in Karachi.

A collaboration of The Citizens Foundation (TCF) and National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA), the musical is said to be loosely based on noted Indian poet Kaifi Azmi’s script for the 1970 Bollywood film, Heer Raanjha.

In fact, the songs of the original have also been used here, with composer Nigel Bobby adding a contemporary twist to them.

The play’s other cast includes veterans such as Arshad Mahmoud (as Heer’s father) and Samina Ahmad (mother). Sanam Saeed, who has earlier famously acted on stage in the English language musicals, Chicago and Mama Mia, gets to sing live again. Her Ranjha is played by a lesser known Hasan Raza.

The play, which is supposed to raise funds for educating the disadvantaged children of Pakistan, is now set for back-to-back performances in Lahore and Faisalabad.