Qissebaazi by The Hoshruba Repertory

Date: 30th November 2024  
Time: 6:30 PM  
Venue: KCC Amphitheatre  

 The period between 1883 and 1890 CE saw two great story writers, Syed Muhammad Husain Jah and Ahmed Husain Qamar, spin perhaps the greatest fantasy tale in the world – Tilism-e-Hoshruba. Hoshruba forms the opening section of the long 46 volume Dāstān-e-Amir Hamza published by the Nawal Kishore Press between 1883 and 1917 CE.  

The Hoshruba Repertory’s Qissebaazi at KCC will entail a Dastangoi performance where Danish Husain will present an episode from Tilism-e-Hoshruba written by Ahmed Husain Qamar, and narrate the thrilling escapades of Amar Aiyyaar, who finds himself entangled in the treacherous court of Emperor Afrasiyab. With humor, aiyyari (trickery), and adventure, this tale unfolds as Amar devises clever schemes to retrieve a stolen magical tablet. The Hoshruba episode is interspersed with folk tales from India sourced from writers like Vijay Dan Detha and AK Ramanujan.  

About the Artiste: 
Danish Husain is an actor, poet, storyteller, and a theatre director. He started his career in theatre with Barry John and went on to work with directors like Habib Tanvir, Rajinder Nath, M.S. Sathyu, M.K. Raina, Sunil Shanbag, Sabina Mehta Jaitly, & Naseeruddin Shah. He was instrumental in reviving the lost art form of Urdu storytelling Dastangoi. He runs his own theatre company The Hoshruba Repertory in Mumbai and his latest productions include plays Guards At The Taj (2017) and Qissa Urdu Ki Aakhiri Kitaab Ka (2017) besides the ongoing storytelling project Qissebaazi (2016), and the poetry performance project Poetrification (2016) with the fellow actor Denzil Smith. His major film work includes India's entry to Oscar 2018 - Newton (2017), Soorma (2018), Baazaar (2018), Ankhon Dekhi (2013), Dhobi Ghat (2010), and Peepli Live (2010). 
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