Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi to host ‘Pakistan Theatre Festival 2023’ by off from 8th September 2023.

Pakistan’s first national level theatre festival ‘Pakistan Theatre Festival 2023’ by Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi is all set to start from 08^th September 2023. This festival will run for a whole month in which there will be 45 Shows in 30 days. International participation includes 07 International Theatre Groups along-with 27 theatre groups from Pakistan.

These views were expressed by President Art Council of Pakistan Karachi Muhammad Ahmed Shah in a press Conference held at Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi regarding ‘Pakistan Theatre Festival 2023’. Well-known seasoned theatre director and actor Munnawar Saeed and Sajid Hassan were also present in the press conference.

President Art Council of Pakistan Karachi Muhammad Ahmad Shah said that; “Arts Council of Pakistan has provided a platform where theatre groups and artists from Pakistan and around the world will participate. This will be the biggest theatre festival in Pakistan; we have theatre groups coming from seven different countries. Festival will be in Urdu, English, Sindhi, Punjabi and Persian languages”.

President ACP said that; “the media has a strong role in showing the positive face of Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi worldwide, thanks to the media for promoting such a big brand as the Aalmi Urdu Conference, Pakistan Literature Festival & Youth Festival”.

President ACP further said; “I have traveled to USA and I can assure of the fact that we are more civilized people than the West, the West does not allow its negative things to come out through its civilization and culture. Through films, India portrays their heroes as heroes and the villains as villain, an artist cannot live in Utopia. We have worked tirelessly to run theatre, music and dance academies. It is evident from the fact that there are hundreds of people working in ACP Karachi promoting arts & culture across the world. Previously we had Theatre festivals like Karachi Theatre Festival and Sindh Theatre Festivals on regional levels, but now with this Pakistan Theatre Festival it will be on national level with international participation as well. We are introducing a new brand in the name of ‘Pakistan Theatre Festival’ and I am hopeful that it will succeed”  

President ACP quoted an example of an American Artist, who was visiting Pakistan and she went and created a very positive image about Pakistan. He added by saying; “we want artists from all over the world to come to us and our students to go all over the world for learning theatre, acting & music. We are more focused on teachings & training, which can be seen on the schedule where we have many workshops included in this Pakistan Theatre festival.”

Director and Actor Munawar Saeed said that; “Pakistan Theatre Festival 2023 is a great success of Ahmed Shah and Sajid Hasan. I am sure that the mood of Theatre will revive again with Pakistan Theatre Festival”.

Seasoned Actor further added; “I have also done a lot of Theatre and I remember that during our time we weren’t allowed to use microphones in Theatres. We had to train our voices appropriately to our audience. I have also trained my children on training their voices”.   

Actor Sajid Hasan said that; “Ahmed Shah’s journey is a history for performing arts fraternity, we are not worried about his part of the work, as we know that his part of the work is going well. despite the challenging situation in Pakistan, this Pakistan Theatre festival being successful is a big achievement and makes me proud to be a part of this team”.

Sajid Hussain further shared his views by saying; “we used to dream about betterment in our youth but our country has been in emergency all our lives, we have to do everything according to the theory and we have to do everything by ourselves. Going forward from literature itself, Pakistan is a very enlightened country, Theatre promotes all these things, international cooperation is an important thing; Ahmed Shah has taken this great step”.

Pakistan Theatre Festival 2023 includes Patriot & Abdullah, Through The Waves, The Police, Kanya (Sri Lanka Dance), Biwi Ho Toh Apni, Taleem-e-Balighan, Trashedy, Both Sit In, One Night Stand Up,  The Bobbles (Kids Special), Anhi Mai Da Sufna, Kaun Hai Yeh Gustakh, Insha Ka Intezaar, Saazish Ki Wajah Se Khel Multavi, Ken B Eniwan`s Story, Barsaat, Social Pagal, The Father, Gadha Mandi, Chandravati, Say No!, Nocturnal, Art Aur Aata, Ikhtiyar, Anarkali Se Aagay, Fareb, Sham Bhi Thi, Shab Bakhair Maa, Iranian, Ek Yaad, Zeest, The Finest Cutter, Love@70, PirAchy Aur Mir Baqar Ali, Turkiye Theatre.

Tickets for Pakistan Theatre Festival 2023 shows are priced at PKR 1,000 for the general public and members of the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi can get a 50% discount. These prices are only for disciplinary purposes only as it is evident that these are very nominal prices.

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Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) Karachi in collaboration with the Honorary Consulate of Spain in Karachi hosted Spanish cultural dance ‘Flamenco – Dance Concert’.

Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) Karachi in collaboration with the Honorary Consulate of Spain in Karachi hosted a special cultural dance of Spain “Flamenco – Dance Concert” on 16^th May 2022 at Arts Council Auditorium I, Karachi.

This Dance-Concert was attended by President, ACP Muhammad Ahmad Shah, ACP’s Members Governing Body, the Ambassador of Spain Manuel Durán Giménez-Rico, Deputy Ambassador of Spain Elena Gómez, Honorary Consul General of Spain Ghous-e-Akbar & various social figures.

Ghous-e-Akbar & Muhammad Ahmed Shah presenting flower to Manuel Durán Giménez-Rico

Ambassador of Spain His Excellency Manuel Durán Giménez-Rico said that; “Flamenco has been an art for many years and has been our cultural dance for long period of time. We hope you all enjoy our cultural dance”.

Ambassador of Spain, His Excellency Manuel Durán Giménez-Rico sharing his views on Flamenco.

Flamenco, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain and was developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, but also having a historical presence in Extremadura and Murcia. It is more of a variety of both contemporary and traditional musical styles typical of southern Spain.

Flamenco Dancers from Seville Spain, Compania Choni & Victor Bravo.

Flamenco Dancer from Seville Spain, Compania Choni

Flamenco Dancers from Seville Spain, Compania Choni & Victor Bravo with musicians David Bastidas & Juan Manuel

The Spanish Ambassador further said that; “this is our first event in the ACP Karachi and I am sure that this won’t be the last one, as we see ACP Karachi as the best venue in Karachi for such type of cultural events. We hope that this collaboration between us will continue in the future”.

At ‘Flamenco – Dance Concert’, the Spanish cultural dance Flaminco’s expert dancers Compania Choni and Victor Bravo’s brilliant dance received a standing ovation from the audience, while the Spanish musicians David Bastidas & Juan Manuel performed along-side the dance and received praise as well.

It should be noted that the ACP Karachi is turning out to be an institution that takes steps for promotion of Pakistani culture and also promotes foreign culture by collaborating with other foreign consulates in Pakistan.

Flamenco – Dance Concert | Compania Choni & Victor Bravo | Arts Council of Pakistan | Karachi.

Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi and Kopykats Productions announces theatre-play ‘Saadhay 14 August’ written by renowned intellectual Anwar Maqsood.

Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) Karachi and Kopykats Productions is all set to bring its theatrical marvel of ‘Saadhay 14 August’. This will be the last of the 14 August’s trilogy and as previously this drama will also be directed by Dawar Mehmood and will be written by Anwar Maqsood. This last play of 14 August’s trilogy is all set to premiere after Eid-ul-Fitar/May 2022 at Karachi and then it will move-on to other destinations like Lahore & Islamabad. This was announced during a press conference, which was held in on 16^th February 2022 at Auditorium II, Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP), Karachi.

Proceedings of the event officially started with Dawar Mehmood initiating discussion between the panel that consisted of him being the director of ‘Saadhay 14 August’ along with legendary intellectual of Pakistan Anwar Maqsood, President ACP Karachi Muhammad Ahmad Shah and Producer Salman Hussain.

Dawar Mehmood shared his views by saying; “I have learned a lot from the living legend of our country Anwar Maqsood and with this play ‘Saadhay 14 August’ we will try our best to fulfil the expectations of theatre lovers of Pakistan”.

President of ACP Karachi Muhammad Ahmed Shah shared his view by saying; “I am very excited to announce about this play ‘Saadhay 14 August’ and I am hopeful that like previous plays by Anwar-Dawar duo, ‘Ponay 14 August’ was a super hit all over Pakistan, then ‘Sawa 14 August’ was part of this series and now this ‘Saadhay 14 August’ being the last link in the chain is expected to be a massive hit too”.

Shedding light on background of this event, Mr. Muhammad Ahmed Shah said; “pandemic had hit us badly and most of the activities were affected. Culture was also very badly hurt. ACP Karachi was at the forefront in supporting artists’ fraternity during these hard times. Post Covid, we wanted to come back strongly with the our biggest and most well-known product, which is Anwar-Dawar duo”.

President ACP Karachi added by saying; “on the wishes of legendary Anwar Maqsood, ACP Karachi has partnered with organizers of this event, but let me make it very clear that ACP Karachi is a non-profit-organization and will remain that way. All the income expected to be generated from this play will be contributed towards Artist Endowment Fund”.

On concluding note Muhammad Ahmed Shah said; “people like Salman Hussain CEO of iTecknologi should be acknowledged for their role in promoting and supporting art and culture. This is their way of giving back to the society by promoting and supporting arts & culture”.

After President ACP Karachi’s speech, came the moment for which all had been waiting for, Pakistan’s living playwright legend Anwar Maqsood took centre stage. He started by saying that; “when I wrote ‘Ponay 14 August’ in 2011, general feedback that I received was; why not 14 August? on which I said 14 August hasn’t arrived as yet (in spirit) and whenever 14 August arrives, I will write 14 August. After three year I wrote ‘Sawa 14 August’ and now this is the last episode of this series and I hopeful that this one will also be well received by audiences”.

Sharing his views about ‘Saadhay 14 August’, Anwar Maqsood said that; “following the success of ‘Ponay 14 August’ & ‘Sawa 14 August’, the last part of the 14 August trilogy focuses on the great divide between Hindustan and Pakistan. It captures Mohammad Ali Jinnah & Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi through their journey from Kashmir to Lahore, and a train route via Lahore to Delhi, ending with a flight from Delhi to London. It’s about a debate about questioning of 1947 partition, which divided one country into three different countries now. Debate is about who is responsible for this? Their journey delves into conversations between the two where both barristers clash for one last time on a neutral ground which was once the great British Empire”.

Replying to question about casting senior and well-known actors in ‘Saadhay 14 August’, Anwar Maqsood replied; “this is an eight (08) months long event, and I don’t think any well-known name has that much time. Dawar has always has given opportunities to younger lot and most of those youngsters are prominent players in main-stream media. We are hopeful that younger-lot will perform well”.

Anwar Masqsood highly praised the director of this play Dawar Mehmood by saying; “till now I have written 9 plays for Dawar and I must say that he is a very good director. He hasn’t disappointed me till now, I am hopeful that he would excel in this one too”.

Mr. Salman Hussain CEO iTecknologi, who also is the producer of this play shared his views by saying that; “we are proud to be a part of this play written by legendary play-writer Anwar Maqsood. Sharing a stage with Anwar Maqsood is something that I cannot describe. We will continue our full cooperation for the promotion of art and culture as much as possible”.

Like the previous two theatres-plays of the series, Abbas Ali Khan will be composing the music for the ‘Saadhay 14 August’ as well.

Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi organizes the “Dance Junction” for budding dancers.

Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP) Karachi organized a two-day “Dance Junction” at main auditorium of ACP Karachi. This event “Dance Junction” was organized in collaboration with renowned dance-choreographer and dancer Wahab Shah.

Various dancers from Karachi participated and showed this skills on stage in presence of jury consisting of leading choreographer Wahab Shah, Head of Arts Council Dance Academy Mani Chaw and renowned choreographer Abdul Ghani.

On the occasion, Wahab Shah said that; “Arts Council Karachi’s Dance Junction is a great platform for emerging dancers and we are grateful to the President of ACP Karachi, Mr. Ahmed Shah for providing us a platform to showcase the talents of newcomers. The main purpose of this program is to enable artists who do not get a chance to perform their art to take advantage of it”.

Mani Chaw, Head of Arts Council Dance Academy, said that; “after the Corona epidemic, many sectors were affected and dancers also faced a lot of difficulties. We are grateful to President of ACP Karachi, Mr. Ahmed Shah for allowing us to reach out to artists who intend to do something in this field”.

Kopykats Production announces new schedule for their latest venture ‘Ankahi’.

In a press conference held at the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi, KopyKats Productions announced a new schedule for their latest endeavour to the media and the arts and entertainment fraternity. This press conference was well-attended by the press fraternity and had leading cast Amna Ilyas, President Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi Ahmed Shah, writer of Ankahi Haseena Moin, Director Dawar Mehmood and writers Ankahi 2020 (Ankahi 2.0) Sajid Hussain and Saqib Sumeer on stage to share their experiences and also to answer questions raised by members of press.

Originally scheduled to begin in Karachi in March, the play had to be postponed due to the challenges imposed by the Corona virus pandemic. However, the cast and crew met at Arts Council today to announce their return to this much-anticipated project. New date of Ankahi 2020 is 20 October 2020. All operations leading upto the show as well as public viewing will strictly adhere to standard operating procedures (SOP’s) put in place to ensure the spread of Corona virus is curtailed.

President of Arts council of Pakistan Karachi, Mr Ahmed Shah who gave Dawar Mehmood the idea of recreating Ankahi for stage, began proceedings by expressing delight at seeing the likes of Haseena Moin, Sajid Hussain and Dawar Mehmood promoting theatre, which he referred to as the ‘foundation of acting’. He said; “it’s hearting to see stalwarts from golden era of television combining with modern creative geniuses of theatre and i am proud that the Arts Council can provide stage for such a production especially in these challenging times.”

President of Arts Council said; “I am very excited at the re-opening of our platform in times when entertainment is very necessary. We will diligently abide by all safety protocols around COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that life goes on after a long battle with the virus which isn’t over yet. Hence we must remain responsible.  Our main hall has a capacity of around 400, but due to on-going situation there will be two shows daily each, with each show catering to maximum 200 people”.

Replying to a question on Haseena Moin, Ahmed Shah said; “Haseena Moin is a legendary play- writer and it felt like an honour when Haseena Moin consented on my idea of adapting Ankahi along-with Dawar Mehmood. All the changes/adaptions in the script are approved by Haseena Moin herself. Before opting for Ankahi we also discussed Haseena Moin’s two other plays ‘Dhoop Kinaaray’ and ‘Shezori’. ‘Dhoop kinaaray’ seems suitable for film and Shezori all set to come up next on theatre as its script is ready.”

Veteran actor Sajid Hussain lauded Haseena Moin’s generosity for following her drama to be recreated for stage. He said; “it is a testament to her brilliance that Ankahi is making waves in 2020. In our society, outstanding individuals like Haseena Moin do not get the recognition they merit. We would like to encourage people to watch Ankahi as I am sure they will enjoy its adaption for stage. I am very excited about this project, as this is our tribute to the great Haseena Moin. I am glad we now getting the opportunity to finish what we started earlier this year but the onus remains on all of us to remain mindful and follow SOP’s to prevent the virus from spreading”.

Replying to question on Haseena Moin, Sajid Hussain said; “Haseena aapa is a legendary writer; she is a legend not only in Pakistan but in India also. There was a time when, Karachites use to rush home just to see dramas of Haseena aapa. There is no alternate for experience and this was a very unique experience for me, re-writing what Haseesa Aapa had written 38 years ago. She was very strict and fought over every line, Saqib Sameer my co-writer for this project was also very helpful and i learned a lot from him too”. Sajid Hussain concluded on note that; “there is no comparison between two Ankahi dramas. One was recorded for television and that too during 1982 and this one made for theatre and during 2020”.

Saqib Sameer one of the co-writer of Ankahi 2020 (Ankahi 2.0) praised all the team members and said; “during this project I learnt a lot from Sajid Hussain, Haseena Moin and other seniors. Dawar Mehmood is someone who believes in perfection, in simplest words he can be described as a perfectionist. All of this hard work will defiantly get results when it goes onstage”.

Legendary play-writer Haseena Moin spoke about the challenges the production team will face in recreating a drama adored by the public but believed that despite the comparison that will be drawn to her original drama, Dawar Mehmood has the mettle to overcome such challenges with creative flair. She said; “It is a challenge but transition isn’t as difficult a task for this team as you would imagine. I will be pleased to see it win the audiences hearts once again, which I believe it will. I have fond memories attached to Ankahi and I am certain its re-creation on stage will give us all new ones to savour”. She said that; “Sana Murad cannot come again, this Ankahi is adapted as per today’s situation and that was made during that era”.

Director of the play Dawar Mehmood admitted that his endeavour was courageous but one that will not leave the audiences disappointed. He said;”we would like to pay tribute to one of the finest play-writer the country has ever seen. Unlike its inspiration Ankahi 2.0 is set in the present day, but will still depict urban middle class life with panache that is pre-requisite for a stage production. I assure you that no one will go home disappointed, be it those who grew up watching the original drama or the generation that hasn’t seen it yet. We will make sure that members of crew as well as the audience strictly follow the government and WHO guidelines for Corona virus pandemic to ensure the resumption of arts & entertainment doesn’t exacerbate the spread of the virus.” 

Replying to a question Director of Ankahi 2020 Dawar Mehmood said; “converting 22 episodes into a 90 minute play fit for theatre wasn’t that easy at all, neither for me a director nor for writers. But we have a lot of hard-work and are hopeful that audience will enjoy Ankahi 2020.”

One of the journalist asked why did you choose Amna Ilyas for this very difficult role of Sana Murad? This turned out to be a very sensible question as Amna Ilyas hasn’t done much on theatre and very few on televisions and on films. Sanam Saeed would have been an excellent choice, she is the best theatre actress we have today and if you are keep in mind the role of Sana Murad from original Ankahi of 1982. Dawar Mehmood replied that; “Amna Ilyas is the perfect choice for role of Sana Murad and rest you can only say after watching the Ankahi 2020.”

Ankahi, the legendary Haseena Moin’s classic hit from the golden era of Pakistan Television, will make a transition from screen to stage in the form of contemporary adaption directed by Dawar Mehmood. The masterpiece from 1982 will be re-invented for theatre under Haseena Moin’s patronage, while veteran actor Sajid Hussain will pen the script along-side theatre aficionado Saqib Sumeer. The production stars Amna Ilyas in the lead role as Sana Murad, which was originally played by the iconic actresses Shehnaz Sheikh.

‘Jeeto Pakistan League’ making waves during this Ramadan.

The biggest and most exciting game show on the television today is Jeeto Pakistan. Ramadan makes this game show even better but this time it’s not just a game show it’s an entire fantasy league.

Jeeto Pakistan League is going strong this Ramadan. The Game Show hosted by the dashing Fahad Mustafa in a well lit neon hall, but and due to the pandemic situation he entertains us without the crowds.

The Jeeto Pakistan League has five teams one from each city. The celebrities are the captains to each team and are invited everyday with selected contestants on various games. Winners are rewarded with cash prizes and gifts like any original game show theme.

The winning teams are rewarded points and scores are kept on the board. Peshawar Stallions are leading the point table till now bit tables can turn any minute.

Fahad Mustafa keeps the energy going despite the crowd is missing and proves what an entertainer he is. He being accompanied by the team captains Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Sana Javed, Shaista Lodhi and Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Sana Javed captains Islamabad Dragons, Shaista Lodhi heads Peshawar Stallions, Humayun Saeed leads Karachi Lions, Adnan Siddiqui is the captain to Lahore Falcons and Sarfaraz Ahmed is the captain to Quetta Knights.

Little Ahmed Shah also with his mystery treasure box makes cute appearance in the show but everyone is always kept at a safe distance.

Jeeto Pakistan League hosts mini games for TV viewers to win at home as well. The energy of the game is still the same and the ratings are off the charts.