On April 26, Bhopal, a thriving hub of Hindi theatre, saw several articles on a play, Jugnu ki Juliet, published across Hindi dailies. What was common across papers was their disapproval of an on-stage kiss between two actors. The play, Jugnu ki Juliet, is an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and was being staged at the 29th Iftekhar Smriti Natya Avam Samman Samaroh, an annual drama festival. It was directed by Waseem Ali. This adaptation of Romeo and Juliet involves an upper caste Thakur girl falling in love with a boy from the Bhand community, whose family had lost their patriarch over enmity with the girl’s family. 

Dayra in dramatics?

With a rich tradition of dramatics, Bhopal witnesses around 300 plays staged across various venues in the city every year. One of the stalwarts of Indian theatre, late Habib Tanvir, made Bhopal his home in his later years. His daughter and theatre artiste Nageen Tanvir continues to reside in the city.

Hindi dailies in the city have taken a keen interest in art and culture with dedicated teams to cover the beat and related events. Reviews of plays staged in the city usually appear the next morning.

Jugnu Ki Juliet was staged at Ravindra Bhawan on April 25. The next day, headlines of leading Hindi dailies like Rajasthan Patrika, Dainik Jagran, Haribhoomi and Peoples Samachar, among others, were not only sensational, but some also suggested legal action against performers for their “ashleel (obscene)” act.

“Kaun tay karega naatakon ka dayra, khule-aam ho rahe ashleel drishya (who will set boundaries for theatre, obscene scenes are being staged openly),” wrote Dainik Jagran. The strap added: “Ravindra Bhavan main Jugnu ki Juliet main manchit huye aapatijanak drishya, sharmsar hua Rajdhani ka rangmanch (objectionable scenes staged during the performance of Jugnu Ki Juliet at Ravindra Bhavan, Bhopal’s theatre has been shamed).” The report did not include any quotes from the audience or theatre experts.

Dainik Jagran

Similarly, Peoples Samachar commented that “the artistes had forgotten their limits”. Haribhoomi slammed the artistes and playwright calling it “an obscene act” and “a crime”. Other newspapers such as Rajasthan Patrika and Nav Dunia published photographs of the scene.

Haribhoomi

Peoples Samachar

Rajasthan Patrika

Nav Dunia

After the local media’s reportage, the play became a point of discussion on social media, where users passed lewd remarks and judgments targeting the actors.

The ‘controversial’ kiss comes towards the end of Romeo and Juliet. This scene is based in a Bundelkhand village where Chandani (Juliet) falls in love with Jugnu (Romeo). Chandani’s brother is against this relationship. Chandani wants to flee away with Jugnu, so she pretends to consume poison in front of her brother. When Chandani comes on stage, Jugnu is lying on the stage with a bottle of poison next to her. Jugnu doesn’t understand that Chandani is acting. He tries to poison himself by kissing her. When he fails, he consumes poison from the bottle. When Chandani sees that Jugnu is dying, she swallows poison from his lips (kisses him). In the end, both die.

Two days after the play was staged, the actress, who sought anonymity in the wake of an onslaught she faced after the controversy, wrote in a Facebook post: “what is the definition of obscenity in theatre? There needs to be some ethics in the hearts of the audience if they want to judge the scenes of the play.”

The local media justified its stand in follow-up stories. In its April 27 edition, Haribhoomi published a detailed article featuring artistes who thought the scene was problematic. The piece also included a comment from the in-charge of the local police station, Shyamla Hills. The in-charge was quoted as saying they would take action if anyone filed a case.

Organisers sorry, performers not

Hameed Ullah Khan Mamu, the organiser of the Iftekhar Smriti Natya Avam Samman Samaroh, has sent letters to all culture reporters, expressing regret over the scene.

Waseem Ali, the director of the play, initially told media persons that the scene was not included by him and the actors had enacted it in a “flow”. Later, when countered by the actress, Ali admitted to his role on Facebook.

The female actor, who says she doesn’t want to become “a tool of the media for their agenda”, writes: “Obscenity is a personal subject that depends on the awareness from person to person. No one can impose their thoughts on others.” After the media reports were published, she says, she has faced harassment in the form of inappropriate messages and comments on social media. “I know that there was no obscenity in that scene and it was the demand of the scene,” she adds.

Nishant Raguvansi, the actor who essayed Jugnu’s character, told Newslaundry: “I’m very upset to see media is objecting to the scene. It was neither a publicity stunt nor (d0) we want to go against our culture. It was the demand of the scene and not obscene at all. The director was well aware of the scene and we had rehearsed it many times before going on stage.”   

Mainul Ali Siddiqui, a theatre artiste and alumni of Madhya Pradesh School of Drama, says: “I was present at the show that day and the scene was not obscene at all. It seems those journalists reported the facts incorrectly and do not know about human emotions.”

Prasanna Soni, senior theatre director and actor who has worked with the National School of Drama repertory, says: “I talked to directors and some people who watched the act. I know that if the scene demands a kiss, then it is not obscene. Media has created hype.”

Preeti LS Mann, a Delhi-based art critic, photographer and artiste, who also contributes to media houses such as the BBC, says she has seen some sensational reports. She has followed the discussion on social media and is very upset with the way the story has been covered by the media. “It is very disappointing to see the awareness level of journalists. I feel that most of the journalists covering art and culture beats are not trained enough to practice media ethics.”

Mann says some articles were one-sided and did not include any comment from the people who had seen the play. “I had experienced the same with Bhopal’s media. Some newspaper misquoted me when I displayed my paintings in an exhibition in Bhopal. This time they have created a hype and (have) fed people that the scene was obscene. But if they had explored the play or even seen it, they might get another angle. The story was prepared on the basis of photographs clicked by photographers.”  

Mann alleges that despite having released her statement in both, English and Hindi, journalists had misreported the theme and vision of her paintings when they were exhibited in Bhopal.

Is Bhopal upset?

Kokila Bhattacharya, LGBTQ activist and artiste, believes that if the act was relevant to the scene, it cannot be obscene. “Bhopal’s media hasn’t got an understanding of gender and sexuality. I never thought Bhopal would be a city like this, but it is getting worse day by day. Instead of talking about real issues, the media here is trying to censor art. If artistes are comfortable with the scene, who are the media to pass comment?” she asks.

Anurag Upadhyay, a senior TV journalist from the city, however, feels the scene was obscene and the actors must be put behind bars for this act. “Our society is not ready for this type of scenes. If the artistes want to enact a kiss scene, they must bring it to the notice of the audience before the act. I remember there was a play, Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! (originally written by Dario Fo), staged at Bharat Bhavan in which there were a few obscene acts. The director announced these scenes before the play.”

Arif Mirza, a veteran journalist and author of the Media Mirchi review column, stated: “It may sound orthodox, but I feel the media has done its job. Our city is not ready for this experiment.”

Editors in Bhopal now have a mixed reaction about the controversy.

Mrigendra Singh, editorial head of Dainik Jagran in Bhopal, says he is aware that a newspaper has to have ethics and be mindful of certain things. He adds, “But a newspaper cannot be held responsible every time. The scene was very obscene in that play and we have done our duty. Theatre people have to take care of such a thing”.

When asked about his editorial stand, Manish Dixit, state editor of Peoples Samachar, says, “I think our society has access to this type of content from different sources, that’s why we decided to not to blur the picture of kissing scene. We need to accept these things now.”

About the kiss, Dixit says: “The play’s director did not take a stand when he said that the scene was not planned and actors did it in a flow. The director should have taken a stand if he feels the scene was not obscene.”

Waseem Ali’s phone has remained off and attempts to reach him for comment have been unsuccessful so far. The copy will be updated as and when he responds.

(Author is a Bhopal-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters)