Sohaila Kapur receives thundering response in Hyderabad. A memorable evening of legacies and nostalgia.

The packed hall at Radisson Blu Plaza saw the second session of ‘Remembering Razia Baig series’ which featured actress-director Sohaila Kapur from Delhi presenting a memorable and nostalgic evening on her maternal uncles, bollywood legends Dev Anand, Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Conceived and Curated by theatre icon Padmasri Mohammad Ali Baig in memory of his mother, theatre matriarch Begum Razia Baig, the series is getting huge popular acclaim with full houses. Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation started it last month with singer-actress Ila Arun’s book release and reading. Mohammad Ali Baig addressed the packed to capacity Movida Hall at the Radisson paying tribute to Begum Razia whose services to theatre mentored a wave of theatre revival in the city and overseas. 

Actress-writer-journalist Sohaila Kapur, who is also the sister of internationally renowned film maker Shekhar Kapur, before beginning her 90-odd minute av presentation paid a fitting tribute to Begum Baig. It was a memorable evening of tribute and nostalgia of the legacies of two prominent families of Anands and Baigs. Sharing  popular anecdotes of the three Anand brothers, Sohaila delved in detail about how Chetan and Vijay Anand helped in carving the legendary image of the “evergreen hero” Dev Anand. From clippings of their film songs to interview bites of people associated with them, both within and outside the family, her presentation had the audience in cheers.

It was a delight to see senior members of the audience applaud and hum along. ‘Guide’, ‘Haqeeqat’, ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’. ‘CID’ and several other films scenes were played evoking memories of the bygone era and captivating the Dev aura that had women swooning in his times at the peak of his popularity.His leading actresses Waheeda Rahman, Nargis to Zeenat Aman and Tina Munim made their screen appearances in the well-edited video. In signature manner of the prestigious forum Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation, the classy evening was preceded with a sumptuous high tea soiree for the guests at the Radisson.

This series is a commendable effort by Baig paying tribute to women in performing arts bringing path-breaking works of women writers, directors, dancers and singers to the audience of the city.