By Siddhi Jain

New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANSlife): Pakistani television actress Nimra Bucha who will be reading Ismat Chughtais story ‘Mughal Bachcha as part of Zee Theatres series of dramatic readings, ‘Yaar Julahay, believes that readings based on subcontinental literature are seeing a revival during the pandemic because they give the audience a chance to connect to their literary roots.

‘Mughal Bachcha' also took Nimra back to a memorable evening many years ago. She recalls, "I was lucky enough to watch Ratna Pathak Shah perform a story by Ismat Chughtai on stage when she and Naseer Saab (Naseeruddin Shah) had come to Pakistan with their drama group ‘Motley'. She performed with such energy and now I too have the privilege to bring a Chughtai story to life."

‘Mughal Bachcha' revolves around Kalay Mian, a proud Mughal lad and Gori Bi, his beautiful bride. Kalay Mian is unable to set aside his ego and inferiority complex for a happy married life.

The cross-border actor says, "The story remains relevant till date because it is about love gone wrong, ego and conflict over a small issue that grows so big that it never lets two people come together." She has also acted in the Zee5 webseries 'Churails'.

Adding, director Kanwal Khoosat shares, "This is such an interesting story and when I first read it, I immediately thought that Nimra would be perfect for it. Luckily, she loved it too! Our rehearsals were full of laughter and improvisation and she was fabulous as always on stage."

Nimra adds, "The story is so rich that I feel the text did all the work for me. I really enjoyed being a genderless explorer of the narrative where I could be a man or a woman and just play around with the material with complete freedom."

According to her, the experience of shooting a dramatic reading was no different than acting in a film, OTT, or TV show but it had an additional dimension because the ambiance was that of live theatre. She says, "The shoot had the energy of a live performance on stage with the camera acting as an observer. I enjoyed the whole process immensely."

The series at large has actors and directors from both India and Pakistan bring to spotlight masterpieces from a shared literary legacy. The episode will screen on Airtel Spotlight throughout this week.