NSD's Repertory Company stages musical play 'Babuji'

New Delhi: The National School of Drama's Repertory Company is presenting a musical play, titled "Babuji, an adaptation of a short story by writer Mithleshwar.

Based on the folk art form of Nautanki, the stage show opened to audiences on Friday and will run till December 25 at NSD's Abhimanch Auditorium.

The Repertory Company of the NSD is one of the oldest and foremost theatre-performing wings in the country.

Adapted for the stage by Vaibanshu Yadav, "Babuji" revolves around the trials and tribulations of Babuji (Lallan Singh) who wants to follow his passion for music and dance but is not supported in his endeavours by his wife and family.

A few years later, after successfully forming a Nautanki company, he gets an invite to perform with his company at his own daughter's marriage.

The play exhibits a diverse feeling of pain, joy and aspiration of Babuji in a musical form. It is directed by Rajesh Singh, an alumnus of the NSD and the UK's London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He is also the present chief of NSD's Repertory Company.

"It's a musical play with folk theatrical elements. These plays used to be produced during the 90s but now such plays are rarely produced. I am trying to streamline such plays embedded in Indian folk form. This play is being presented by professional artists. People of all ages can enjoy it. It is a kind of play that one can enjoy with their families," Singh said.

He believes stage productions like "Babuji" need to be presented to the younger generation so that they can "understand more about Indian art and culture".

"This is a good initiative. We wanted children to be a part of this play so we kept a special show at 11 am," he added.

The tickets for the shows of "Babuji" are available at Bookmyshow.com.