"Amrika Chalo"
(Destination USA)

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December - 2011 (Lahore)


Written & Directed by: Shahid Nadeem

A Serious Comedy
Sometimes there are national or international issues which become so serious and sensitive, that they have to be addressed through satire. “Amrika Chalo- Destination USA” is a satirical response to the love-hate relationship between Pakistan and US. We hate the US policies but many of us would love to visit US or even settle there. We have serious reservations about US policy towards Muslim world, the military interventions, domination, “do more” demands, drone attacks… the list is long and unending. For the visible and invisible policy-makers, it is a question of national interest and geopolitics but there are others including the so-called “Ghairat Brigade” for whom every thing which is wrong can be conveniently attributed to the US. On the other hand the American values of liberty, freedom and morality are too often contradicted by its high-ended imperialist policies. But “Amrika Chalo” is not a polemical play about international politics or US-Pak relations. It is a light-hearted self-critical view of our double standards and hypocrisies and is a lot of fun too. The location of the play is the visa section of the US Embassy where a number of applicants for US visa have gathered for interviews. They include a businessman, a would-be illegal immigrant, a student, an artist, a mullah, a politician and aged parents of a Pakistani-American US resident. Their reasons for visiting the land of opportunity range from seeking refuge to selling samosas and as expected, they are put through a grilling process of interrogation and security checks. And then a group of unexpected and undesirable visitors arrive…
The play has been written and directed by Shahid Nadeem. M. Aslam has composed the music and Wahab Shah has done the choreography.

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