Watch Premchand's classic tales, Idgah and Gulli Danda performed by Vinay Pathak and Vivaan Shah on Zee Theatre. Performed under the series of Koi Baat Chale, an anthology of timeless tales about human foibles, loss, pride, the search for love, and the true meaning of friendship and generosity, these stories exemplify the variety and richness of subcontinental literature. The stories are directed by film, television, and theatre veteran Seema Pahwa.
Idgah revolves around four-year-old orphan Hamid, who decides to gift something special to his grandmother Amina on Eid. The story depicts how tenderness and love can transcend even the harshest of circumstances and how a young child, who himself lives amid great deprivation has the capacity to think about the struggles of his grandmother.
Talking about his story Idgah, actor Vinay Pathak says, "I have a very deep connection with Idgah because I love this story, it was a part of my school and college curriculum and now I have a chance to revisit it and narrate it. I also shared a very close relationship with my grandparents and this is why this story has a great personal significance for me as well. To say that today we are losing out on the legacy of storytelling that was once such a big part of our ethos, would be an understatement but I hope, Koi Baat Chale will remind the younger generation of the beauty of Indian literature."
Gulli Danda on the other hand is about a successful engineer who returns to the village where he spent his childhood and reconnects with an old friend who was the champion of the Gulli Danda club. A game ensues between the two and what follows surprises everyone.
Actor Vivaan Shah who narrates Gulli Danda says, “My parents have staged multiple stories by Ismat Chughtai, Saadat Hassan Manto, Munshi Premchand, Harishankar Parsai, Krishan Chander and other luminaries of Indian Literature, and I have grown up with their beautiful stories that are about social realities as well as fundamental human truths. This story, though not overly dramatic or full of flourishes, very subtly etches how the humblest amongst us are the most big-hearted and can make gestures that are overwhelmingly generous. It was a pure delight to immerse myself in this story."
Watch Idgah and Gulli Danda on Tata Play Theatre and Tata Play Mobile App on 22nd January at 2 pm & 8 pm.
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