Padmini Kolhapure on playing ghazal legend Begum Akhtar in a play: It's a dream come true
As Padmini Kolhapure steps into the shoes of the Queen of ghazals for a play, she talks about her love for the genre and the late legend’s music.
Actor Padmini Kolhapure, who calls theatre her “calling and comfort zone”, has been busy honing her Urdu-speaking skills for the last few months. Reason? She will be playing Begum Akhtar in a play, titled Ammi... Akhtari. The two-hour-long theatrical act on the late Queen of ghazals’ life premiers later this month. “It’s a unique act and playing Begum Akhtar is a dream come true,” Kolhapure tells us, as we catch up with her during a rehearsal in Mumbai.
Theatre has been a fun medium for her for a while, but Kolhapure agrees that this play is different, as it makes her “excited and nervous at the same time”. She explains: “For me, theatre has been my calling and zone for a while. It hits a different chord within and keeps me on my toes. But playing Begum Akhtar on stage isn’t easy, as I would be playing a real character. She’s worshipped and more than any of us, people would come to see Begum Akhtar! Also, the play has a lot of Urdu, so I have to get it right.”
So, is she a fan of the ghazal legend? “My father was a fan of Begum Akhtar. I developed a love for her ghazals because of him,” says Kolhapure.
The play, a musical, is a tribute to the life of Begum Akhtar that covers major areas of her life. Begum Akhtar (Padmini Kolhapure) is old and ailing. She is in the company of her shagird Sukhi (Tejaswini Kolhapure), an established singer herself. Together they explore the life of Begum Saheba in all its glory and tribulations. A few dark secrets are uncovered by Sukhi. Ghazal veteran Talat Aziz will be seen rendering Begum Akhtar's ghazals and thumris live on stage, including Woh Jo Hum Men Tum Mem Qarar Tha and Hamari Atariya Pe, among others.