In fact, the reactions of many on the stands kept changing with the changing content of the letters that Amrita and Zulfi had written to each other over a tumultuous 35 years. Instead, the audience, who had filled every corner of the Shilpa Kala Vedika, were completely engrossed in the lives of the two protagonists as many seasons and occasions, such as Eid, Diwali and birthdays kept flying through the pages of their lives. The fact that the setting of the play did not change anytime through the 1 hour 30 minutes of the show and that the two characters (the play has only two actors) remained tied to their writing desks all through the performance, failed to bring any monotony to the experience. Adding brilliance of the script, penned by renowned playwright Javed Siddiqui, were the two stalwarts of Indian theatre, Azmi and Shaikh who essayed their roles with an earnestness that has almost become synonymous with their names, their performances. Decades could have faded the pages of the letters, but the emotions still seemed untouched, absolutely virgin. But despite 300 odd re-runs across the globe since then, the play based on A R Gurney’s hugely popular ‘Love Letters’, still had the same sheen, sharpness and sensitivity on Tuesday. It was almost 18 years ago, that this Feroz Khan production had made its dazzling debut at the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai (then Bombay). On Tuesday night at the packed to capacity Shilpa Kala Vedika, Day 5 of the ongoing Times Hyderabad Festival, it was Feroz Khan’s acclaimed play and the understated yet powerful performances of Shabana Azmi (Amrita) and Farooq Shaikh (Zulfi) that had the audience hooked through its length of over one hour 30 minutes. ‘ Tumhari Amrita’, the story of unrequited love read out through reams of love letters, took Hyderabadis through a journey which was moving, thrilling and entertaining all at the same time. HYDERABAD: A hushed auditorium, a spontaneous applause to a standing ovation.
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