Via Satish Khot
The Book Club's meeting on 27th October 2014 where we discussed To Be or Not to Be ..… Hamlet or Haider was quite a hit. Over 70 people attended and we had to rush around to get more chairs. Even then we had a no. of people perched on tables. But we all enjoyed it thoroughly. The Book Club got excellent reviews for it's meeting from the media. Even a FM radio station talked about it on their channel. The report in the newspaper can be seen on the following URL:
Mohini Khot introduced the play and pointed out the popularity on stage ever since Shakespeare first wrote it. She said it was so as Hamlet's allure was it's enigmatic nature. Why would a hero bent on revenge inexplicably delay it? And rather than an angry, determined and vengeful hero, in Hamlet we have an introspective, melancholy one who questions the very value of living –To Be or Not to Be.
After the introduction, Ahmed Karim offered a psychological interpretation of Hamlet's state of mind, his famed indecision and introspection, his "madness", his obsession with his uncle's guilt and his mother's sin. He further said that Hamlet's strong attachment to his mother seems a case of Oedipus complex.
Gautam Idnani reviewed the movie Haider, adapted by Vishal Bharadwaj. There was intensive discussion on Bharadwaj's choice of trouble torn Kashmir as the setting for this movie. The depiction of the police and the army came in for criticism as was the script for being excessively pro militant.
Five members of The Book Club: Rita Chablani, Mukul Ahmed, Shenaz Setna, Shama Vijayan and Deepak Morris each recited a segment of the central soliloquy To Be or Not to Be. Peter Veigas lightened the mood with an irreverent and comic take on the Prince of Denmark. And the heated discussion dissolved into laughter.
Here's a link to the Sakal Times coverage. Scroll down to see the report when the PDF loads.
Here's a link to the Sakal Times coverage. Scroll down to see the report when the PDF loads.
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