Vinay Pathak, Vivaan Shah bring alive Munshi Premchand’s short stories in Zee Theatre’s anthology ‘Koi Baat Chale’

Zee Theatre’s thoughtfully curated collection of dramatic readings ‘Koi Baat Chale’ presents Munshi Premchand’s classic tales

Hyderabad: Zee Theatre’s thoughtfully curated collection of dramatic readings ‘Koi Baat Chale’ presents Munshi Premchand’s classic tales ‘Idgah’ and ‘Gulli Danda’.

The two episodes exemplify the variety and richness of sub-continental literature and are directed by film, television, and theatre veteran Seema Pahwa. These classic tales will be narrated by well-known actors, Vinay Pathak, and Vivaan Shah respectively. It will be aired on Tata Play Theatre and Tata Play Mobile App on January 22 at 2 pm and 8 pm.

‘Idgah’ revolves around four-year-old orphan Hamid, who decides to gift something special to his grandmother Amina on Eid. The story depicts how tenderness and love can transcend even the harshest of circumstances and how a young child, who himself lives amid great deprivation has the capacity to think about the struggles of his grandmother.

Talking about his story ‘Idgah’, actor Vinay Pathak says, “I have a very deep connection with ‘Idgah’ because I love this story; it was a part of my school and college curriculum and now I have a chance to revisit it and narrate it. I also shared a very close relationship with my grandparents and this is why this story has a great personal significance for me as well.”

‘Gulli Danda’, on the other hand, is about a successful engineer who returns to the village where he spent his childhood and reconnects with an old friend who was the champion of the Gulli Danda club. A game ensues between the two and what follows surprises everyone.

Actor Vivaan Shah, who narrates ‘Gulli Danda’, says, “My parents have staged multiple stories by Ismat Chughtai, Saadat Hassan Manto, Munshi Premchand, Harishankar Parsai, Krishan Chander and other luminaries of Indian literature. This story, though not overly dramatic or full of flourishes, very subtly etches how the humblest amongst us are the most big-hearted and can make gestures that are overwhelmingly generous. It was a pure delight to immerse myself in this story.”