As a part of the
Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival this year, the play Bimari Ki Khumari is being staged on 11th November at Ravindra Bharathi. The play will begin at 7:30pm.
Bimari Ki Khumari has been adapted from a French play, Le Malade Imaginaire, which was originally written by Moliere. It will be performed in Hindi, by the Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation.
Molière, whose real name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, was a French playwright and actor of the 17th Century. He is considered to be one of the best masters of comedy, in Western literature. He earned a position as one of the king's favorites, and received the adulation of the court, and Parisians as well.
Le Malade imaginaire was the final play of Molière. Argan is a hypochondriac, and his doctors are anxious to make money out of him while they can. For cheaper treatment, Argan offers his daughter Angélique's hand to the son of one of the senior doctors - Thomas Diafoirus.
Unfortunately, Thomas is not the sort to appeal to women. Moreover, Angélique has already fallen in love with another man. It is only when Toinette, Angélique's maidservant, disguises herself as a doctor, that Argan's family is able to begin to wean him from his condition and persuade him to accept Angélique's marriage to her lover Cléante.
In 1673, while he was playing the hypochondriac Argan, Molière was actually suffering from tuberculosis. He finished the performance and died just after.
Bimari Ki Khumari, directed by Soma Sundaram, runs for 90 minutes. The play is being performed by the Alliance Francaise Theatre group from Delhi.
Entry tickets are priced at Rs. 1,000, Rs. 500 and Rs. 100. Please contact theatrefoundation[at]cineworksindia[dot]com for further details.
