A still from Sa Hi Besura

DELHI The applause from Prithvi Theatre's stellar festival last week in the capital has still not faded from earshot. But that has not dissuaded the Old World Theatre Festival from setting the stage for the final hurrah of the year. Teetering between deadpan absurdity and comic relief, the plays will try to strike a tricky balance between the historical epic and the everyday saga. The playlist could not be more impressive. There is Mahesh Dattani, Makarand Deshpande, M.S. Sathyu and Satyadev Dubey.

After his film Morning Raga, Dattani returns to his theatrical roots with Clearing the Rubble that makes its world premiere here. "This is the stage adaptation of a radio play I did in 2001," he says. An emotional roller coaster, the story looks at the imminent upheaval in the lives of three people affected by the Gujarat earthquake. "It deals with time and space, life and death," he adds.

Deshpande's use of black humour shines in Sa Hi Besura. Touted as a "hilarious tragedy", it stars Naseeruddin Shah's daughter Heeba, who has earned kudos for her incendiary portrayal of Ismat Chughtai. As a play within a play, the story unravels like Matryoshka dolls when a struggling actor's father attempts to stage his comeback after a nervous breakdown. "It looks at the way theatre cures life's disease," says Deshpande.

Auteur Sathyu showcases his play Dara Shikoh, which makes the point that India cannot accommodate any more fundamentalism. Dubey, the life force of Hindi theatre for over 30 years, will put up Raincoat for All Occasions which observes the relationship between a professor and a student when a new girl joins the class. Pakistani director Akifa Mian scores a sunny side up through Aadhi Baat, a look at a Pakistani family dealing with (what else) misunderstandings. For the first time, students from Delhi University will get to stage their plays as well. Feast enough for both the nerdy and the needy? You bet. From December 4-14. At India Habitat Centre.

-By Supriya Dravid

Rahul Sharma

DELHI Offstage Rahul Sharma, 32, is relaxed. But in a chameleon-like change, he turns intense the moment he takes centrestage with his santoor. Without a doubt, restraint and maturity have helped Sharma, who is the first Indian to release a thematic album under Peter Gabriel's Real World label. He recently launched his album, Jannat-Paradise on Earth (Music Today). "I happened to go to Kashmir with my father after 15 years," says Sharma who can claim this music as a birthright. His father is the legendary Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. "Kashmir is truly jannat (heaven). I have converted all the experiences I had there into my music." Sharma, who has also composed for the film Mujhse Dosti Karoge, is now planning his next album, Maya-The Illusion. The past is from where he derives his inspiration. "People often say, 'forget your past', but I am inspired by the past. Creativity trickles down in my mind as if from a tap, it never stops," says Sharma. In keeping with his musical legacy, the old and the new are intertwined.

-By S. Sahaya Ranjit

Kher in Khamosh Pani

Acclaimed Pakistan-born documentary filmmaker Sabiha Sumar's film Khamosh Pani, which has won over audiences and bagged awards the world over, now comes to India. "I tried to make a connection between the violence against women in 1947 and in '79 when Zia-ul-Haq came to power in Pakistan," says Sumar. Kirron Kher won the best actress award at the Locarno Festival for her portrayal of the protagonist Ayesha in the film. The heroine-based film is all set to hook a land obsessed with larger-than-life heroism.

HULCHUL Director: Priyadarshan Cast: Paresh Rawal, Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi

Slow Motion

Humour is serious business. It takes timing, talent and enormous writing skills to create laughter. Priyadarshan, with films like Hera-Pheri and Hungama, has perfected a blend of screwball comedy. Hulchul, which also stars the director's comic muse Paresh Rawal, is more of the same.

The first half about two warring families headed by a bulging-eyed patriarch and a banshee-style matriarch plays straight for laughs. Khanna and Warsi, two of the most underrated actors in Bollywood, keep the film moving with bang-on performances.

Then, for reasons unknown, the director decides to get heavy-handed. The humour is diluted by melodrama, an item number and violence. The change in tracks derails the film. Which is a pity.

-By Anupama Chopra

A "Transience" canvas (top); Astad Deboo (on right)

CHENNAI Astad Deboo's Contraposition, a dance of silence where he performs with a troupe of eight hearing-impaired youngsters, will hit the stage at the Chinmaya Heritage Centre on December 9. His dance partners are students from the Clarke School for the Deaf, Chennai. Deboo, who has been trained in Kathak and Kathakali, will be exploring the navrasas. The music has been especially composed by Amit Heri, best known for his fabulous fusion for Morning Raga. The production, which will also visit Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, has been invited to open the 20th Deaf Olympics in Melbourne in January next year.

MUMBAI Catch Kahini Arte-Merchant's latest solo show of acrylics on canvas titled "Transience" at Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda, from December 1 to 7. The show will comprise 21 large canvases addressing the fleeting nature of time, seasons and life.

DELHI Most artists draw from imagination. Rameshwar Broota draws from life. He constantly revises the way he looks at man and is probably best known for his satirical paintings. In his recent series of paintings, Broota paints close encounters between the human body and massive man-made objects on an imagined darkened space. These juxtapositions of man and material in a cosmic void grapple with the enigma of existence. The resilience of fragile flesh pitted against adamantine materials presents a speculative take on the nature of life. One of his favourites, Going Within, depicts man "seeking an answer within his own being in the struggle of life". This "meeting with the inner self" reflects the theme of his new exhibition, on view at the Sridharani Art Gallery from December 7 to 14. Mumbaikars can catch it at the NGMA from January 4 onwards.

-By Sushmita Choudhury

Narayan

Musicians and dancers have now donned a new role. That of a writer. Noted Hindustani classical vocalist Ashwini Bhide Deshpande has released her book of compositions Raagrachanjali (Raj Hans) while Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan has launched Indian Classical Dances (New Dawn Press).

"I am not making a musical statement with my compositions. I just want to create and give form to my creative expression. Words are like a ladder that helps me to attain that raag bhav," says Bhide who is a disciple of Pandit Narayan Datar, Ratnakar Pai and Manik Bhide. Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar is impressed with her bandishes. "She has been able to retain the spirit of the tradition through the dialects she has used. She also pays attention to the subject matter," he wrote to her. What is handy is the MP3 collection containing 84 compositions sung by Bhide.

Narayan's book is her seventh one on dance. "I wanted to explain the different Indian dance forms in a nutshell. The book is snappy and easy to read," she says. It throws light on all the eight classical dance forms, highlighting their individual styles and presentation. The narration is coupled with a collection of photographs.

-By S. Sahaya Ranjit

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