38-year-old Hardeep Lal a member of Nada India network…
…“A plain hobby turned into a profession. For the street plays, I made the costumes myself from bed sheets and odd items, recalls Lal as he conducts a workshop for adolescent girls at Nada India Foundation in Chhattarpur.” … Indian Express July 27,2008 ...
A street called satire
RICHA BHATIA
Posted online: Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 2351 hrs IST
Hardeep Lal and his Deep Group use satire in street plays to get their message across Hardeep Lal’s teenage years in Jalandhar were spent spreading awareness on social issues such as alcoholism and family planning through the Ram Lilas staged every Dusshera. Says 38-year-old Lal, who moved base to Delhi in 1987, “ Alcoholism is a major issue in Punjab and I could see that in my immediate surroundings. My father also suffered from this and it affected our family. I joined a local social organisation Sewak Dal and performed Punjabi plays for them on alcoholism”.
The hobby turned into a profession. “For the street plays, I made the costumes myself from bed sheets and odd items,” recalls Lal as he conducts a workshop for girls at the Nada India Foundation in Chhattarpur.
“Always remember to add a touch of humour to your dialogues otherwise the audience will lose interest,” says Lal as he instructs 18-year-old Anita on dialogue delivery.
This is, in fact, the guiding principle of Lal’s Delhi-based
22-member troupe called Deep Group that set up in 1994.
“Satire is very important as it is an effective way of getting your message across, especially with lower-income groups for whom we perform frequently. There have been times when a few compulsive alcoholics left drinking after they saw our play Ab to Jaago on alcoholism,” says Lal.
So how did he begin? “As a teenager I sang in orchestras at night and also mimicked a local Punjabi star Meher Mittal. That made me hugely popular,” says Lal. These experiences gave a robust authenticity to Lal’s plays that are popular for their scathing satire.
He got his big break with Laado Ki Shaadi, a 45-minute play that combined comedy with sharp satire on child marriage and the subsequent dangers of early pregnancy. It was a huge success with many trial runs in Jehangirpuri, Dilshaad Garden, Shashi Garden, Patparganj and other areas. Currently, Lal is staging plays on the Delhi government project Save Child.
“It has already been performed in nine dispensaries,” says Lal whose group has staged over 3,000 plays so far.
Recently, he invested in a sound system which has a sound-mixer. “Everybody in the group uses a mike so that people can hear clearly,” says Lal who works along with 27 NGOs. He draws on his old Hindi music collection for providing music in his plays.
“Songs from Dhool ka Phool and Mother India are frequently used and add to the story. After every play we conduct a quiz with the audience to see how much they have learnt,” says Lal.
In fact, most of the members of his group joined only after watching his plays. One such is Pradeep Pandey from ITO who became a member after watching one of the plays staged by the group at Pragati Maidan.
“All the members of the troupe are non-actors who joined after watching our performance and I trained them in script-writing, acting and dialogue delivery,” says Lal.
If it hadn’t been for his commitment to theatre, Lal would have been working with groups that work for animals. To date, he has nursed about 25 birds and paid for their treatment.
Clearly, Lal is a man of many parts.
…“A plain hobby turned into a profession. For the street plays, I made the costumes myself from bed sheets and odd items, recalls Lal as he conducts a workshop for adolescent girls at Nada India Foundation in Chhattarpur.” … Indian Express July 27,2008 ...
A street called satire
RICHA BHATIA
Posted online: Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 2351 hrs IST
Hardeep Lal and his Deep Group use satire in street plays to get their message across Hardeep Lal’s teenage years in Jalandhar were spent spreading awareness on social issues such as alcoholism and family planning through the Ram Lilas staged every Dusshera. Says 38-year-old Lal, who moved base to Delhi in 1987, “ Alcoholism is a major issue in Punjab and I could see that in my immediate surroundings. My father also suffered from this and it affected our family. I joined a local social organisation Sewak Dal and performed Punjabi plays for them on alcoholism”.
The hobby turned into a profession. “For the street plays, I made the costumes myself from bed sheets and odd items,” recalls Lal as he conducts a workshop for girls at the Nada India Foundation in Chhattarpur.
“Always remember to add a touch of humour to your dialogues otherwise the audience will lose interest,” says Lal as he instructs 18-year-old Anita on dialogue delivery.
This is, in fact, the guiding principle of Lal’s Delhi-based
22-member troupe called Deep Group that set up in 1994.
“Satire is very important as it is an effective way of getting your message across, especially with lower-income groups for whom we perform frequently. There have been times when a few compulsive alcoholics left drinking after they saw our play Ab to Jaago on alcoholism,” says Lal.
So how did he begin? “As a teenager I sang in orchestras at night and also mimicked a local Punjabi star Meher Mittal. That made me hugely popular,” says Lal. These experiences gave a robust authenticity to Lal’s plays that are popular for their scathing satire.
He got his big break with Laado Ki Shaadi, a 45-minute play that combined comedy with sharp satire on child marriage and the subsequent dangers of early pregnancy. It was a huge success with many trial runs in Jehangirpuri, Dilshaad Garden, Shashi Garden, Patparganj and other areas. Currently, Lal is staging plays on the Delhi government project Save Child.
“It has already been performed in nine dispensaries,” says Lal whose group has staged over 3,000 plays so far.
Recently, he invested in a sound system which has a sound-mixer. “Everybody in the group uses a mike so that people can hear clearly,” says Lal who works along with 27 NGOs. He draws on his old Hindi music collection for providing music in his plays.
“Songs from Dhool ka Phool and Mother India are frequently used and add to the story. After every play we conduct a quiz with the audience to see how much they have learnt,” says Lal.
In fact, most of the members of his group joined only after watching his plays. One such is Pradeep Pandey from ITO who became a member after watching one of the plays staged by the group at Pragati Maidan.
“All the members of the troupe are non-actors who joined after watching our performance and I trained them in script-writing, acting and dialogue delivery,” says Lal.
If it hadn’t been for his commitment to theatre, Lal would have been working with groups that work for animals. To date, he has nursed about 25 birds and paid for their treatment.
Clearly, Lal is a man of many parts.
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