Karachi – The Musical 'Haar Na Mano'

After Karachi's most popular broadway shows 'Chicago' and 'Mamma Mia', Nida Butt, a choreographer, and Hamza Jafri, a musician, came up with a new show "Karachi – The Musical". Based on the lives of Lyariites, a community in Karachi who trace their roots to African slaves from earlier centuries.

“It’s the first time we are doing a play in Urdu,” said Nida Butt in a press statement. “And it’s also the first time we are doing a story which is so relevant to us, our city and our times.”

Karachi – Haar Na Mano has been written by Faraz Lodhi and edited by Uns Mufti and is based in the boxing rings of Lyari, where boys and men fight all day long. Lodhi wrote 12 of the original soundtracks while Jafri composed the music for them. According to Jafri, the music is edgy and quite contemporary.

The upbeat songs are what the first original musical performance in the city is all about and have catchy titles like Dakka and Aik se Das and Jin. The people who turned up for the pre-show were given a little preview and were enchanted with the performers electrifying movements. The dancers were dressed in an orange kameez and white shalwar, like the tabla players while the singers were dressed simply in black shalwar kameezes. The songs were performed in Urdu but with an unusual Broadway feel to them.

The theme of the musical, as supported by the decor, highlighted how despite all the odds and violence in Lyari, people continued to dedicate a large amount of their time to sports – and boxing in particular.

The show would run at Arts Council from October 22nd, 2011.