HYDERABAD (PTI): Twenty eight years ago, a young lad Babban Khan sat under a Lamppost and wrote a play “Adrak Ke Panje” (Paws of Ginger).
Today, the play is the longest running one-man in the world, which Khan wrote in just three and a half hours.
So far he has staged 8,016 shows or 16,032 hours of performance on stage. A plaque at his Shantinagar home in Hyderabad proudly says he is Babban Khan “The Genius Man.”
Other long running shows like Mousetrap in London and Rex Harrison’s My Fair Lady, have improvised, changed characters and used a range of special effects but Adrak remains unchanged from its inception.
Adrak Ke Panje is a two hour nonstop rib tickler weaved around Ramtoo, a poor man, and the myriad problems he lands himself into due to having many children.
Of late, Khan has also introduced the implications of Dowry and drugs on the lives of poor families into the show.
“My play is not a promotion for family planning,” he says “because when I wrote it, the country was not even thinking of it. But, since it echoes the problems of large families, it has become more relevant today, and therefore Adrak’s popularity is going up.”
What is the uniqueness of Adrak Ke Panje? The answer lies in the fact that Babban Khan is the scriptwriter, producer, director, makeup man, sets, lighting, publicity in charge, and salesman all rolled into one from the first performance till today.
‘The entire paraphernalia required on stage for his play totals just Rs 750.
Claims Khan “I am not a commercial man. Tam an artist. I wanted to break the monopoly of western theater groups and feel I have succeeded if my performance in 44 countries and 27 languages in virtually all the continents is any indication.”
Unaffected by his ever growing popularity, Babban Khan is a man of simple habits. Khan is a vegetarian, tectotaller and nonsmoker. His company that manages his show abroad Hayward Johnson scrupulously takes care of his simple needs.
Commendations and awards have flowed to Babban Khan. He is also the rare recipient of a commendation from the academy of motion pictures, arts and sciences, USA, which annually gives the Oscar Awards; in addition he has pats from Bob Hope, one of the greatest comedians, and the British Queen among others.
Rex Harrison described Adrak Ke Panje as a miracle produced by Babban Khan without music and lighting effects.
Millions of people around the world have watched it, some many times over. What sustains the popularity of the show?
Says Khan, “along with first timers, there are a few who want to grasp better some of the dialogues that were drowned in the laughter that pervades the theater, and there are children and others who come to just have a glimpse of the genius man,” explains Babban Khan, in his characteristic tone.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 20, 1993
