"DUSHMAN"
(The Heroic Enemy)

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2006 (Lahore)


Adapted bY: Shahid Nadeem
Directed by: Madeeha Gauhar

Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” is no doubt a world classic. One yardstick of a classic is that it is timeless and is relevant for all periods and all societies. It in fact acquires new meanings and new significance with the passage of time. “An Enemy of the People” is one such play. Its theme relates to an apparently inherent contradiction in the human psychological make-up: the inability of human beings to accept evident truth which conflicts with their narrow selfish motives. This faulty perception of self-interest prevents them from recognizing their own long-term interest. The play also places individual self-interest against the collective good. But the most challenging question posed by him is: “Is the majority always right?”.

What if the majority opinion is manipulated, ill-informed and against its own interests? Not always, history tells us. . Is the minority opinion always wrong” What if the views held by an individual or a small group, are the real truth, though unpopular. Human history is full of instances when the majority refused to accept the truth and recognize what was in their own interest. All prophets, reformers, revolutionaries and innovators faced rejection and hostility from a majority which was unwilling or unable to see the light of truth and a new idea. A powerful force here is “faith”, not just in religious or spiritual senses but also in a scientific and intellectual sense, which enables visionary individuals to stand up against the collective might of majority. Faith and determination of such leaders have succeeded in eventually winning over the majority and bringing about revolutionary changes and become the propelling force of historical progress.

‘Dushman’ is an adaptation by Shahid Nadeem of Ibsen classic and is a tribute to the great Norwegian playwright on the occasion of his death anniversary. The “Public Enemy” in this adaptation is based in a prosperous Northern town. The town is indebted to their doctor-scientist benefactor who discovered the miraculous properties of their spring water, which became the main source of their prosperity. But then the hero discovered the unpalatable truth and was turned into the Enemy. The vested interest, the selfish motives, the double standards, the self-created blind spots, the vulnerability of the weak and the gullibility of the ill-informed. All ingredients of Ibsen’s tragic-hero becoming a villain are present, along with a new factor. The hidden force which tilts the scale against the heroic enemy.

“Dushman” is not an unfamiliar story for Pakistan or countries where untruths and exploitation are given divine ideological sanction. Issuing edicts of being a “kafir” or infidelity and “Enemy of Islam or State”, is a political weapon frequently used by the religio-political establishments. In most cases the selfish, narrow-minded, gullible majority goes along with such witch-hunting or at least unquestioningly allows the truth to be trampled and heroes turned into villains. The Century-old Ibsen question is still unanswered: “Is majority always right”? Collective will and wisdom is a great virtue but shouldn’t we question the established and certified truths every once in a while?

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