Zeenat Aman, the 1970s siren, returns to the stage as Kasturba Gandhi negotiating a difficult marriage
Vishwas Kulkarni (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 16, 2020)

To Mumbaikars of a certain vintage, Zeenat Aman is an emotion; and for Indians of a certain pedigree, Mahatma Gandhi is an even deeper faith. So when you put these two icons on the same stage, it does touch a nerve. Again, strictly for some in these volatile times.

Dearest Bapu, Love Kasturba, a play directed by Saif Hyder Hasan, and starring Arif Zakaria as the Father of the Nation and Zeenat Aman as his significant other, will be the opening play of The Great Indian Theatre Festival 2020 this Friday. And the vibe in Green Room Number 1 of the Mukti Foundation in Model Town — home to many an aspiring actor — is electric: This is, after all, the same compound that also houses Anupam Kher’s eponymous acting academy. Zeenat is trapped between vanity mirrors on opposing walls and loathes considering them as a motif when our photographer arrives. “Please, this is about Kasturba Gandhi. I’m not entirely convinced about using the vanity mirror. Can we just go down and shoot in natural light?”

But then we cajole her and eventually sit down for some banter with the team. What was the inspiration for the play? “What we have here is Kasturba and Gandhi depicted as a real husband-wife duo, in a man-woman context, shorn of their mythological aura. And that is the challenging and exciting bit,” says Zakaria, whose angular features are an apt complement to Gandhi’s anorexic, ascetic physicality. “When I first cast Zeenat, I wrote this as a monologue, three times its current length. But I also tend to edit and rewrite on the floor — and once Arif came on board, the play took on an epistolary format, a story told through letters,” says Hasan, who has also directed Gardish Mein Taare, a play about the troubled marriage between legendary filmmaker Guru Dutt and singer Geeta Dutt.

He shares that many questioned his casting choice “since Zeenat is perceived as glamorous”. “However, the same folks won’t mind a white guy playing Gandhi because a gora made the film. That’s the mindset,” says the thespian, who also admits that he would be as comfortable to cast a black guy as Gandhi and a white woman as Kasturba. “That’s the leap of faith that any art form demands. We need to step outside of silly thinking,” he says.

We turn to Zeenat and ask her if the theme of a difficult marriage excited her? “Look, no marriage is ever the same as another, troubled or not. There is a man and there is a woman. They are individuals. That is what excited me about this project,” she says, going on to detail her character’s unique position. “Kasturba is largely an unsung legend, stoic and nuanced. She stood by her husband, even went to jail for him, had a heart attack in Arthur Road Jail during our freedom struggle. And there were all these experiments with sex that Gandhi had her participate in, which he himself has written about. It’s all in there. But ultimately, it is Saif’s verbal imagery that seduced me,” she says.

That the play has a visibly excited technical team is evident from the colour palette, set design and music — all the gorgeous chaos that goes into making theatre. For instance, a version of “Vaishnava Jana To”, scored by musician Ratnesh Bhagat, and one that Aman insists we listen to, is genuinely plangent and moving. “Technology is a necessary component. In addition to the performances, we have original photographs of Gandhi, some very subtle lighting design and other elements. In essence, the audience will explore a dual journey through 70 minutes,” adds Hasan.

Did the cast and crew have to endure any particular challenges in assembling this production? Aside from the obvious physicality associated with playing Gandhi, Zakaria says, the presentation of the relationship is not linear, and being a reading format, “there is always the challenge of syncing the pages whilst connecting with the audience”. “The text is right there. But how do you capture the hidden mystique of a relationship with mere words? That was a welcome learning curve,” he adds.

For Zeenat, the challenge in portraying Kasturba was also about her body: “Kasturba was a very petite woman. I am not,” says the 1970s siren. Is this perhaps the oldest role she has ever performed? After all, it was only Rakhee Gulzar from her generation who played both lover and mother to leading heroes in yesteryear Bollywood. “When it came to taking on Kasturba’s persona, I was delighted beyond measure to dab on wrinkle after wrinkle after wrinkle. I did not shy away from playing a 74-year-old. I embraced it. It is, in fact, the antithesis of make-up. I feel her. I get her,” says the 69-year-old.

Have both Zakaria and Aman consciously chosen theatre as an outlet for their thespian health? “I wouldn’t say that. Film and television will always be a part of my life, but when your life gets too comfortable, it is important to push your boundaries. Theatre helps you to be grounded and sharp. Because theatre is about now,” says Zakaria, who has also worked in The Merchants Of Bollywood, a 2005 Australian musical by Toby Gough, which boasts of selling out 400 shows and was seen by 500,000 theatre-goers by 2008. “It’s been a rather organic journey for me,” says Aman. “For instance, when I started this project and got down to doing my research, one of the things that struck me was what the Mahatma said to Kasturba when encouraging her to take part in our freedom struggle. ‘Even if you die, do it. I’ll worship you like a goddess.’ That’s theatre for me,” she says.

The technical crew is insistent that we stick around for the rehearsals, but Aman interjects, “No! Let them see the final version, please!” Our photographer, meanwhile, comes forward with some select shots of the actress for her preview. “Wah, wah, Satyajit ji! Salaam,” she says, enthused and playfully raising her right palm to her heart in a matching gesture. Because that, too, is theatre. 

Arif Zakaria is thrilled to be playing the role of the Mahatma in a new play, says he thought he would ‘die without playing Gandhi’
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 9, 2020)

Ever since Arif Zakaria became an actor, he had a wish to play Mahatma Gandhi and he is over the moon that his wish has been fulfilled in the new play by director Saif Hyder Hasan. “The play is called Dearest Bapu, Love Kasturba and it explores the relationship between Gandhiji and his wife, Kasturba Gandhi. It is based on facts but woven into fiction by Saif. In the play, Gandhi and Kasturba write letters to each other after passing away and talk about their relationship of 60 years. It gives us a peek into the ordinariness of their lives as opposed to the great pedestal that we have put them on,” he shares.

The Great Indian Theatre Festival in March will open with this play, which also celebrates the 150th year of Gandhi’s birth. “But not many people know that it is also 150th year of Kasturba’s birth,” adds the actor, who is excited to work with veteran actor Zeenat Aman, who will essay the role of Kasturba.

The idea of playing Gandhi appealed to Arif, who instantly decided to be a part of the play. “I started with theatre very early in college and later veered towards the visual medium. It is good to come back to theatre. I knew I wanted to play Bapu at some point in my life and there were opportunities on TV and in films which never came to fruition. I thought I would die without playing Gandhi,” he quips, adding initially the play was conceived as memoirs of Kasturba. But when Saif thought of Arif and asked him to attend a reading, it worked in Arif’s favour. “Initially, I didn’t take Saif seriously as I thought maybe he is toying with an idea but things fell into place. The role of Gandhi was quite attractive,” he says.

Other than getting his mannerisms right for the role, Arif also had to keep the larger-than-life persona of Gandhi in mind. “He is a father-figure, so making his voice effective and real while reading letters was a challenge. As it is a play, we will have to deliver each time,” opines Arif, who has been performing shows of the play, Gardish Mein Taare.

KALPANA LAJMI (1954-2018) 

Actor Arif Zakaria remembers Kalpana Lajmi, the director of his debut film Darmiyaan, who passed away on Sunday following a prolonged illness
Arif Zakaria (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 25, 2018)

The most tangible takeaway of meeting Kalpana Lajmi was not her razor-sharp intellect, her erudite manner or her candour, but the pink cheeks on her baby face. Her cheeks and guffaws stood out all through our association. I’d seen them change colour — from flaming to pale — depending on whether she was angry, amused or indifferent.

I met her two decades ago in the office of Pravesh Sippy, who was producing an English TV show. After a brief introduction, she handed me a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s novel, Resurrection, which she was adapting, and said she wanted me for one of the major roles. When Kalpana spoke, you listened. She was a true raconteur and an astute observer of people. In that first meeting, she wanted to know which books I read, the movies I watched and my taste in world cuisine. Her inexhaustible appetite for literature and her command over spoken English were impressive.

I was finalised for the TV project and so began a series of interactions with her as we started rehearsals. Over time I met her partner and mentor, the late singer-musician Dr Bhupen Hazarika. She always addressed him as Bhupsu. It was, and remained till the end, a fascinating alliance that manifested itself in myriad ways. Father–daughter, guru-student and musician-muse.

Shooting in Assam and travelling to various parts of the state was an indescribable experience as Kalpana, the director, was in her element in this Brahmaputra fiefdom of Bhupen Hazarika. At some point, she sounded me out for a one-scene role in an unusual story she was developing for a film, Darmiyaan. She had assurances from a few major stars for the lead role. I was thrilled and memorised the entire script to show off. Over time, the lead actors changed and Kalpana was furious over the merry-go-round (flaming pink cheeks). A few months passed by.

One clear September morning, I got a call from Kalpana asking me to come over to Kirron Kher’s apartment in Juhu urgently. No reason or context was given. I recall reaching an hour early and pacing Juhu beach nervously. I walked into the apartment where both Kalpana and Kirron were seated on the floor with a copy of the script.

That’s when Kalpana broke the news that I was to play the lead in the film and I had to surrender the next few months to the project.

Thus, started my journey on my first film. It was abject surrender to Kalpana and her entourage of actions and words. Each page of the script had to be mastered and memorised. She put me through extensive rehearsals with the late Simple Kapadia, who was her associate. We began filming soon after and more facets of her personality emerged. She was relentless in her dislike for complacency. There were days when I shuddered to get to the location for fear of inviting her wrath with my inexperience or inability to follow instructions. I recall Kalpana hollering over the megaphone as I shot for the climax scene in a stupor, holding an infant while addressing the character played by Tabu.

Her acting commands that seemed insulting then are today testament to her knowledge of character nuances.

I always felt she was disdainful towards the physical aspect of filmmaking (dull, pink cheeks), but a true craftsman of intricate screenplay. Through various interactions later, even when illness had started to take a toll, she remained a bouncing board for ideas. I always felt she was a misfit in the film business and its flattery. Maybe she’s found her true calling now and is at work in a room full of books, with pen and paper, and a Bhupen Hazarika melody playing in the background.






Soni Razdan, Shyam Benegal and Shabana Azmi (seen here comforting Kalpana’s mother, Lalita Lajmi) attended the funeral


Arif Zakaria with Kirron Kher in the film

BOMBAY TIMES (May 25, 2018)

The upcoming biopic Gul Makai, which is based on Malala Yousafzai, the world’s youngest Nobel laureate, chronicles the life of the young Pakistani activist, who was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban for going to school. The film revolves around her early journey and the circumstances that made her an inspiration to the world.

About the title of the biopic, director Amjad Khan says, “When Malala was 11 years old, she wrote a blog about life under the Taliban, under the pseudonym Gul Makai.” Khan has promised to donate the movie’s first-day worldwide collection to the Malala Fund, which promotes education of the girl child.

The action sequences in the film have been shot in Bhuj (Gujarat) with a 16-camera set-up and a team of 1,200 people. Khan shares, “I have used 16 cameras throughout the film so that I could get the desired shots without interrupting the performance of the actors. Also, I opted for FTII and NSD passouts for minor roles. We also have well-known actors, including the late Om Puri, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Arif Zakaria, Mukesh Rishi, Abhimanyu Singh, Pankaj Tripathi and Sharib Hashmi in the cast.”

Apart from their talent, director Amjad Khan chose actors based on their resemblance to the real-life characters. Child artiste Reem Shaikh is portraying Malala on screen.

In the film, they have recreated Malala’s home and school as it used to be, including the furniture, computer, crockery, and even her school dress and school bag. Khan explains, “It took two years to complete the research, and another couple of months to write the screenplay and dialogues. The research and writing has been done by Bhaswati Chakrabarty. She is a perfectionist; I don’t think any other person could have done the job so well.”

The director has also composed the music of the film. He says, “The title song is written by Bhaswati, while the rest of the tracks have been penned by me.” He even convinced the late Om Puri to sing for the film. Actor-singer Piyush Mishra has also rendered a track, in which Khan has accompanied him.

Gul Makai, produced by Sanjay Singla and Preeti Vijay Jaju, is all set to release in the latter half of the year.

The actor has been shooting in Jodhpur for his turn as Sir Hugh Rose in an upcoming British-Indian co-production
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 1, 2017)

Acclaimed British actor Rupert Everett arrived in Jodhpur last week to secretly start shooting for a Brit-American production based on Rani Laxmibai, Swords And Sceptres, which is directed by Swati Bhise.

The 58-year-old actor, who plays Sir Hugh Rose in the film, has been shooting with Arif Zakaria (featuring as Gaus Khan, Rani Laxmibai’s chief advisor-strategist who dies in the Battle of Jhansi alongside the Queen) for the last six days.

Expected to release in 2018, the period war-drama features a mix of Indian and British actors, including Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, The King’s Speech) as Lord Palmerston and Nathaniel Parker (The Outcast) as Sir Robert Hamilton, who also arrived in Rajasthan last week. Milind Gunaji (Virasat, Godmother) will be seen as the Maharaja of Jhansi, Gangadhar Rao, and award-winning Marathi actor Ajinkya Deo plays Tatya Tope, while Devika Bhise (The Man Who Knew Infinity) will appear in the titular role and Hollywood actress Jodhi May as Queen Victoria.

“The film will be shot for eight weeks in Jodhpur and Jaipur and there are extensive schedules planned with different members of the cast in London and Morocco,” a source close to the development told Mirror, adding that the grand Moroccan desert will double up as India in the film’s upcoming schedule. It was picked because the desert backdrops are a favourite with the international producers. Recently, it featured as Iraq in two war films – the Clint Eastwood-directed American Sniper and Alexandre Moors’ Yellow Birds. For The Night Manager featuring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie, Morocco was shown as Egypt for six weeks.

Shilpi Sampad (MID-DAY; September 5, 2016)

1 and a half years months after his directorial debut, Khamoshiyan, tanked at the box office, Karan Darra is ready with his second project. Titled Disco 82, the thriller will shed light on the underground party culture in India. Toplining the ensemble cast is Amol Parashar, who features in The Viral Fever (TVF)’s new web series, Tripling.

The mechanical engineer-turned-actor had earlier done character roles in acclaimed films like Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year (2009), Babloo Happy Hai (2012) and Traffic, which released last May. In Disco 82, he plays one of the central characters.

Says Amol, “I was shooting for Tripling when I met Karan and discussed this film. He asked me to read the script. I was instantly taken in because it was something that hasn’t been explored before. It had an interesting vibe to it.”

The film went on floors yesterday. Amol says he knows little about the world of hole-and-corner parties. “I am not a hardcore party person in real life. I like to let loose and have a good time once in a while, but I can’t live that life on a regular basis. In fact, that is what is intriguing for me personally— to live this party animal character through the film and get into the psyche of that world,” he adds. At this point, he is getting to know his co-actors — Akshay Oberoi, Vipin Sharma, Arif Zakaria, Rahul Chabbria and Ashish Verma.

Director Karan says, “Disco 82 has been inspired by multiple incidents of underground parties in Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, etc., and major busts that have taken place. This film revolves around a bust with 300 young party-hoppers on scene. There are dialogues in Hindi, English, Marathi and Gujarati.” Interestingly, the director has moved out of Mahesh Bhatt’s Vishesh Films after the failure of Khamoshiyan; he was an assistant director for Vishesh’s 2013 sleeper hit, Aashiqui 2. “I am partnering with a new company called HD Productions,” he adds.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 22, 2015)

Vikram Bhatt's ghost from Haunted -3D, Arif Zakaria, is now partnering with actor-director friend Pramod Pathak on a children's film, Pinti Ka Sabun, which revolves around a pahadi boy, Lalit, who wins a bar of luxury soap at the village mela which reminds him of Pinti, an army officer's daughter he used to play with.

"As the soap begins to shrink and eventually melt, despite his refusal to share it with his friends, uncle, sister and even his mother, Lalit believes his world is crumbling around him," Arif told Mirror, adding that the soap is a metaphor for all the materialistic things we hold on to.

Pramod narrated the story to Arif in 30 seconds while driving down to a meeting and the they decided to script it into a feature film. In March, the Children's Film Society, India (CFSI) agreed to back the project and push it on the festival circuit.

"We have completed a recce in Uttaranchal and the film goes on the floors in October. When budgets are tight, I'm not just a producer. I have my hands on everything," chuckles Arif, who won't be acting in the film because he doesn't have the rustic look of the characters. "You'll see me in Ishq Forever, also featuring Lisa Ray and Javed Jaffrey, which we filmed in Cape Town. I play a cheeky bad guy who's both funny and serious."

Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; April 17, 2015)

Mohar Basu (BOMBAY TIMES; April 7, 2015)

Sartaj Singh Pannu has taken the producers of an upcoming film, including the sound artist, to court
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 27, 2015)

The last year’s release The Xpose was a debacle and senseless but it made one thing clear – if executed and scripted well, one can come up with a great product with the backdrop of 50s and 60s stars and their scandalous and tumultuous lives. Saif Hyder Hasan’s latest play Gardish Mein Taare is also based in a similar world and attempts to tell the tale of a filmmaker-actor and his wife, a singer – both are which loosely inspired from Guru Dutt and Geeta Dutt respectively.

The story: Devdutt Bose (Arif Zakaria) has delivered a successful film Bhookh and has put all his efforts in making his next film, Patjad Ki Awaaz. He has had a love marriage with Bhavna (Sonali Kulkarni) and as time passes, cracks develop in their relationship. Bhavna is amused that the world sees Devdutt as sensitive and kind-hearted as in her opinion, he is ruthless, rigid and somebody who has clipped her wings. How both fall from grace in getting even with each other when all they wanted was to love and be with one another forms the crux of the story.



Gardish Mein Taare is 80 minutes long and unlike Hasan’s last play Ek Mulaqat which had too much of Urdu and Punjabi dialogues, this one is easy to comprehend, at least for someone like me, as the dialogues are in Hindi. The writing (Summana Ahmad) is simple but is quite sharp and makes a lot of impact. Just like Ek Mulaqat, Gardish Mein Taare too has just two actors despite that there are 3 more significant characters in the play. These characters are not shown and only their voices can be heard while Devdutt or Bhavna respond to them and beautifully pretend that that person is standing next to them. The best part in this regard is when Bhavna gets interrogated by the cop and she wonderfully throws her arm ‘around him’! I don’t know if something of this sort often happens in plays but it made for a great, unique experience! The content meanwhile is quite strong and even shocking at places and that definitely adds to the impact. But the best is definitely reserved for the finale. The final play of words between Devdutt and Bhavna is quite touching and heartfelt. The director and writers doesn’t try to judge or conclude who is right or wrong and whether anyone is right or wrong. Despite being based in the 60s, the play is relevant even today as it throws light on what often goes wrong in relationships.

Gardish Mein Taare rests not only the superb writing but also performances. Arif Zakaria has a terrific dialogue delivery and comes up with his most brilliant performance. Watch out for him in the confrontational scenes and when he is angry – he rocks the whole theatre with the manner in which he threw his voice! There are portions where you’ll hate his character and there are portions where you’ll deeply sympathize and this marks the success of his bravura performance. Sonali Kulkarni too gives quite a powerful performance. In fact, her character has some interesting nuances and due to that and her terrific act, there are places where she even overpowers Arif! For instance, the scene where she gets drunk during the interrogation or when she comes home fully sloshed – she’s so amazing! And to top it, she even sings beautifully!



Director Saif Hyder Hasan has now become a master when it comes to challenging, one act, two actor, period drama plays! Also, the research is terrific and the manner in which he incorporated fictional elements and real-life incidents make for an entertaining watch. The Yusuf portion is just amazing – see it to believe it! Also, the humour infused in between prevents the play from becoming too dark and depressing.

On the whole, Gardish Mein Taare is a work of art inspired by two of the most prominent film personalities of yesteryear. The content is entertaining and also shocking at places but is something that everyone can relate to. The play ends on a very justified note and will surely be appreciated by audiences. The story, script and dialogues are upto the mark while Arif Zakaria and Sonali Kulkarni rock the show with their award-winning performances. The premiere show of the play was held at NCPA, Mumbai on January 26, 2015 and has got an encouraging response. Definitely, this play is a ‘lambi race ka ghoda’. Go for it, if you enjoy such kind of entertainment!

My rating - **** out of 5!