Ashique Hussain (above); Creative Producer Ashwath Bhatt
Salman Khan, Himesh Reshammiya and Saurav Ganguly have something in common — they are all rumoured to have had hair transplants — that is not shared by actor Ashique Hussain. He is a “100 per cent shuddh ganja” as he says in Shaadi Kara Do Baba, a play about the adventure of a man with a shining top. A solo by Hussain, the play has been produced in collaboration with Ashwath Bhatt of the Theatre Garage Project. “It is a marriage of stand-up and theatre, with a hilarious script. Only after the show do you see the undercurrents of a tragedy. We have talked to many people who have said, because of not having hair, they have lost all confidence,” says Bhatt, the Creative Producer. Shaadi Kara Do Baba will have its Delhi premiere at the Alliance Francaise on August 5. Excerpts from an interview with Bhatt:
Indian women don’t find bald men hot: We thought of this play when Ashique and I were studying in London and he had a breakup. Hollywood has Bruce Willis and Vin Diesel, bald stars with huge fan bases, but, in India, a hero cannot be ganja. Ask Salman Khan. There’s another side of the coin, when girls think baldness means wisdom.
And then, there’s Anupam Kher: The play includes five songs, performed live, which includes Ye mere bichhre baalo composed by Anupam Kher.
From Virat Kohli to the vendor of puran poli: Everybody has a signature haircut. In the play, we discuss the Buzz Cut, the Mullet cut and the Pompadour. The Indian cricket captain has the Undercut. There used to be the Rat Tail, inspired by the thin braid that hung down the back of the neck.
It’s lonely on top: In the play, nobody wants to be friends with our hero. The pretty girl from office will have tea with the chaprasi but not even talk to him. The matrimonial proposals his parents send out come back with one reply, “But he’s bald.” When all else fails, the protagonist turns to a baba.
A hair-raising prediction: In future, nobody will be bald. The hair transplant industry is pegged at multi-billion dollars and is growing by the day. Soon, parents will set aside funds and take out insurance policies for the future of their children’s hair.
It happens to women too: Baldness in women is quite another issue, and a very serious one involving gender discrimination. We don’t touch upon that in this play.
One to one: The hour-long play is designed as a direct monologue with the audience. Ashique essays almost eight characters and sings. There is a lot of farce to break the realism but humour dominates the narrative.
