Art for the working class

Moloyashree Hashmi continues the street theatre movement spearheaded by her husband Safdar Hashmi

Jana Natya Manch, shortened to Janam, is the best known street theatre group in India. Started in 1974, the group has consistently spoken for the working classes in the country.

The movement’s most recognisable face is the legendary Safdar Hashmi, the multifaceted theatre personality, who was killed after an attack by goons of a candidate with Congress support on January 1, 1989 during a performance of their play ‘Halla bol’.

This attack did not tire down the group, which included Hashmi’s wife Moloyashree, but they were back on January 4 to finish the play, a commitment some would call superhuman.

Speaking to Showtime, Moloyashree, the face of Janam, denies that there was anything superhuman about their response.

“It was a very human response,” she says. “It was virtually a duty. It was not just important, we had to go back to the people. It was the most normal thing to do. There was nothing super about it. Why was the attack done? That is important to understand. The attack happened primarily because we were performing for the working class.”

While much has been written about how Moloyashree went back to finish the play, she says it was not one person’s effort.

“All of us did that. I was not there as one figure. That is another myth that is often created when things are written about, that there is one figure who does something. No, movements are led by lots of people,” she says.

In the 31 years since, Janam has performed on every January 1 reiterating their solidarity with the working class.

When asked how their work has changed over the decades, she says while modifications were made with the times, the philosophy remains the same.

“Our latest play, in fact, is around the labour codes. All the labour laws that have been bunched together, were tabled as bills. Two of them have become Acts, and another two are in the pipeline. The codes are there as if to gloss over these things, and ultimately there are those who are minting money out of the workers. This is the sort of work that we were doing even in 1989,” Moloyashree says.

She adds that the condition of workers has moved from bad to worse over the years.

“When we used to perform in the 80s in slums and working class areas, after every performance, we would say, ‘If you liked the play, donate to us.’ Naturally, when we go to a bank union, we get more money, and when we go to a working class union, we get less. But we used to get it everywhere. Over 30 to 35 years, I find that the number of people who have ready money in their hands has gone down. It’s not that they don’t want to give. Because they are watching the play, they clap, they smile, they come and talk to us, they are clearly enjoying the plays. But they don’t have even 1 rupee to give to us,” she says.

“The sheer struggle to live has become so sharp,” she adds.

Moloyashree looks back proudly at the work Janam has done over 45 years, and says some of the works have been “truly wonderful and are gems”. However, many of the issues that the group had addressed even then remain. “It is shameful that it continues. It is shameful that in Independent India, the government has not been able to secure minimum wage for workers,” she says.

When asked whether the era of social media has helped get the ‘message’ across better, she corrects me: “We are not there to give messages to people. We are there to engage with people in an articulate, creative manner around what is happening in society. Because this is also the problem. People think we have messages to give. That, just because we have read two books and maybe gone to university, we have messages to give to the working people. We have no right like that.”

“We go with humility and creativity, and understand and respond and go back to them. And that is the process,” she adds. She says interesting discussions take place on social media, but it also sometimes becomes a platform to spread misinformation.

“Social media per se can’t do the work of a play or a cinema or a speech or most importantly, ground-level mass work. Nothing can replace them,” she says.