03/28/2026
Abhinayam presents: Shaista Mahal
Saturday, May 23, 2026 | 03:30 PM
The Art Place Black Box Theater
3330 Sandy Plains Rd, Marietta
We are incredibly excited to announce our second production: an adaptation of the powerful short story "Shaista Mahal" from the International Booker Prize-winning collection The Heart Lamp by the phenomenal Banu Mushtaq.
The Story
In the quiet, watchful neighborhood of Zeenat and Mujaheed, one name echoes louder than the rest: Iftikhar. A man of silver-tongued promises and grand poetic declarations, he has famously vowed to build his wife, Shaista, a "Mahal" as magnificent as the Taj—a sprawling testament to his eternal devotion and love.
But as the seasons pass, the neighborhood watches a different story unfold. The "palace" remains a skeletal ghost of cold stone slabs, and the life within its walls is far from a fairy tale.
Shaista Mahal offers a searing, poignant look at the Facade of Devotion and the unbreakable Strength of Women. It pulls back the curtain on the harsh realities of modern-day patriarchal norms, where grand gestures often mask the quiet struggles for dignity and survival.
Join us for an evening of theatre that is as sharp as it is soul-stirring. Experience a narrative that doesn't just ask for a monument, but for the truth of a life lived.
Original Short Story
Mushtaq Banu
Rewritten in Bengali
Chandrima Roy and Shankar Sengupta
Cast
Mujaheed – Prem Goswami
Zeenat – Chandrima Roy
Iftikhar – Arka Pandit
Shaista – Arpita Auddy
Asifa – Laboni Banik
Rumana – Soma Ghosh
Rehman Chaacha – Rajib Auddy
Zeenat Mom – Rita Kapahi
Costumes - Sonjukta Halder
Multimedia – Subadra Gupta
Music – Chandrima Rimi Bhattacharyya and local singers
Photography/Video – Satinath Sarker, Raja Gautam Kar
