Playwright and storyteller Bande Nawaz is ready to enthrall audiences with a musical play, Mann Mutabiq – a Qissa Goi. The interactive play blends storytelling and Sufi songs to evoke a gamut of feelings and spotlight social points.
Portraying a number of characters in this 90-minute manufacturing, Nawaz, the director and founding father of Bengaluru-based Peppirit Productions, is the sutradhar (narrator). Accompanied by two actors, Suraj R and Bhoomi Telkar, he performs a number of devices, sings and acts to narrate tales.
A scene from ‘Mann Mutabiq’
| Photo Credit:
‘Special Arrangement
As the story progresses, the sutradhar transforms into a number of characters from a village, every character portraying distinct quirks, mannerisms and a modified voice. While Tejas GR handles the sound division and Karthik Shukla performs the tabla, the workforce led by Kunal J makes use of completely different lighting strategies to improve the scenario and character’s emotion.
Interactive storytelling
Cast and crew of ‘Mann Mutabiq
| Photo Credit:
‘Special Arrangement
“The play’s uniqueness is the sutradhar playing different characters and the audience identifying them through lights, expressions and dialogues,” says Nawaz, over the cellphone from Bengaluru. The interactive storytelling creates an element for the viewers too, as they get to reply questions posed by the sutradhar. When the query ‘What is God’ comes to the fore, completely different individuals have completely different solutions however love (“God is the love we spread’) wins them all. For those who still have questions, Mutabiq (Sutradhar) answers them. “Without us lecturing, the audience discover on their own through characters. Love is found in different ways — caring for others and empathy keep us together.”
The musical play, staged thrice in Bengaluru, has 4 authentic songs (written and composed by Nawaz) and Sufi numbers from Hindi cinema.
Nawaz was impressed to create an entertaining musical to make it interesting even for non-theatre lovers. “Themes with social issues are usually dialogue-heavy and primarily engage theatre enthusiasts. Our aim was to create a narrative that is not preachy so that those who are not theatre regulars can also enjoy them.”
Mann Mutabiq – a Qissa Goi might be staged at Rangbhoomi Spaces on May 24; Tickets: bookmyshow
Published – May 20, 2025 11:18 am IST
