HYDERABAD: Raffu Chakkar Entertainers recently marked its 10-year journey with its signature show, Majdhar, a captivating love story written and directed by Rafia Sultana. The lead characters, Shruthi and Lallan, were played by S Tejasri and Mirza Ateeque Baig, respectively, and the supporting cast included Antony as Jhumroo, Mohammed Rizwan as Adi, and Armaan Rasheed as Chambi.
The event was graced by Ayesha Jaleel, an esteemed actress in Telugu and Hindi cinema and a stage actor for over 39 years. Rafia Sultana expressed her gratitude to her friends, family, and Lamakaan and Rangabhoomi for their support.
The play was performed at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram at their Bagh Lingampally auditorium. Talking about her 10-year-long journey, Rafia Sultana emphasised on the learning and development that theatre has brought to all the members of her team. She says, “I am very happy with the journey. Everyone is seeing an upward graph and progressing with better results each day. The way the newer subjects have handled challenges has been awesome. In a way, we are still learning and most importantly, still struggling to pull the crowd but I am very happy and grateful for the dedication and hard work of my artists. These 10 years have advanced my journey from story-telling and made me a director and a composer too.”
She further added that even though there were technical difficulties during the performance of Majdhar, having a strong and committed team takes precedence over everything else. Emphasising on the need to revive theatre as an artform, she said, “My aim is to bring theatre to each and every household of Hyderabad. Theatre needs to escalate to that level. It was a little disappointing to see that even though we had made the play free for everybody, we did not have a full house,” she said.
Ayesha Jaleel commended the team’s hard work and dedication to continue the tradition of theatre. She emphasised the need to revive theatre as an art form, especially in Hyderabad.
She said, “The play was conceptualised beautifully but the technical strength was lacking. Theatre as an art, especially in Hyderabad is dying. To see them putting in so much hard work, to continue with the tradition, is commendable. I was on stage for 39 years. For me, coming back to watch a play will always remain special.”
When questioned about her future involvement in theatre productions or movies, she replied, “Since my husband’s passing, I’ve taken a more passive role.”
Performing with Raffu Chakkar for the first time, 23-year-old Tejasri, who played the lead character of Shruthi, a brave journalist who refused to bow down to the pressures of a corrupt society, expressed her love for acting and the opportunity to play unique characters on stage. “Working with Rafia ma’am was like being at home with my mother. It was wonderful,” she said.
Despite younger generations being attracted to other modes of entertainment, the actor already has 25 performances to her name. Talking about what keeps her interest in theatre alive, she said, “By being born I have one beautiful life, but when I do theatre, I get to live 100 different lives by playing unique characters. This is why I love acting, and it always keeps me on my toes to enact on stage.”
Raffu Chakkar Entertainers have performed 51 plays in their decade-long journey, and they are preparing to launch two more shows, a horror show called Darr and a thriller called Challenge. The team is also working on Telangana’s first Broadway show, and three songs are also in the pipeline.