PROBASHI- A Cultural News Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 | Page 30

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Interview with Moloyashree Hashmi

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live performance, a bunch of actors
reach an empty space, play the
drum and call people. Initially
stragglers come and about 50
people stand at a distance. As soon
as the first two lines have been
delivered the crowd would swell to
150 and into the first five minutes of
the play the number is 300. This we
see in show after show, getting an
audience of 350 to 400 is not
difficult. On the contrary, the
electronic media has helped us, for
we can now watch plays staged
across the world on internet and
learn.
How do you see JANAM evolve in
the future?

Safdar Hashmi

class areas, etc. – have been a
fruition of his dreams.
Safdar’s talents were truly versatile.
He wrote plays, songs, articles, he
was an actor, singer, and director,
he wrote for the television, he
made some short films, he wrote a
number of wonderful songs, poems
and plays for children, he designed
posters and masks, and he was an
efficient and dynamic organizer.
When
the
Committee
for
Communal Harmony was formed
after the anti-Sikh riots of 1984,
Safdar played a large role in
mobilizing artists and intellectuals.
Similarly, in November 1988, when
the workers of Delhi went on a 7day strike, we organized, under
Safdar’s initiative and leadership, a

large march of artists and
intellectuals in support of the
workers.
These initiatives became the
precursor for the massive show of
solidarity on part of artists and
intellectuals after Safdar’s murder.
After 1 January 1989, the
overwhelming support of the
people and artists was the
mainstay of JANAM.
With electronic media coming on
fore, what does it mean for the
street theatre movement?
The two are not contradictory. The
electronic media does not take
away the audience of street
theatre. Street theatre goes to
where people work and live. It is a
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JANAM today is going strong.
Perhaps the most important reason
why we are alive and thriving is
because of our relentless continuity.
We keep on doing plays and keep
on performing. People, young and
not so young continue to join us.
Some move on to other things,
some stay on for a long time, some
forever. It is a group where people
can evolve in their own space,
politically,
creatively
and
intellectually.
JANAM
is
a
collaborative collective.

Interview by Sudipto Sengupta and Amit
Mukherji