''Shabash Anarkali'' (शाबाश अनारकली, شاباش انارکلی) is a Hindustani

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

of the historical romance of Saleem and Anarkali set during the Mughal period in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The play was written by Surinder Gulati, directed by Nadira Babbar (and others), and staged throughout India as well as on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

(Indian state television) in the late 1970s. Although it aired on state-run television, the play came in for some criticism in the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

because it allegedly made disrespectful fun of Emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, "''a great and respected leader of this nation of ancient times''." The play has received popular and critical acclaim since it first began to be staged.

References

Hindi theatre Urdu theatre Indian plays Works set in the Mughal Empire Parodies {{play-stub