Edu-leaders

The Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Najeeb Jung, will be playing Akbar in the Outreach Programme of Jamia Millia Islamia, in collaboration with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), Delhi.

There will be two plays on the campus of the university. Of these, Jung will play Akbar in one the plays, Anarkali-Akbar-Salim. Stage actors Ankita Gusain and Jitin Gaur will play the roles of Anarkali and Salim respectively. The play will be performed at 6:30 PM on February 27, 2011 in M.A. Ansari Auditorium of the college and will last for 80 minutes.

Unlike the usual story of Anarkali, this play will focus on what happens after Anarkali is killed. The play tells that Anarkali was not killed for the betterment of the people or to save the prestige of the nation, as Akbar claimed. Instead, it was an honour killing to preserve the blue-blooded Mughal lineage, salvage Akbar’s family honour and his ego.

The second play is Be-Libaas which will be performed at 6:30 PM on 28th February at the same venue. The duration of the play is 90 minutes. This play is about men, women, the society they live in and the options they have. Different anecdotes about human relationships and supposedly ‘free choice’ give us a mirror of life where there are both victims and victimizers.

These plays have been directed by noted playwright Aziz Quraishi who has been a versatile sportsman, actor, writer, director and producer. He has acted in more than 50 plays and has worked with the likes of E. Alkazi, Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Ranjit Kapoor. He has written six full length plays and directed more than 10 of them in Hindi and Urdu. He has also acted in more than 50 TV serials including ‘Hum Log’ and ‘Sword of Tipu Sultan’. He has also produced more than 10 TV serials and 25 documentaries.