kolkata recently witnessed an evening of reminiscence and lifes unpredictable tales as the theatre personality padma shri mohammed ali baig narrated his story through an hourlong play titled under an oak tree son of the legendary thespian qadir ali baig the nuances of stageacting runs in his blood as many helm their lineage as hyderabads first family of theatre mohammed was bewitched by stage lights posters and scripts from an early age but it took him some time to realise his inevitable destiny to carry his fathers legacy forwardmohammeds mother was afraid of a similar scenario after her husbands untimely demise even though she knew in her heart her son would flourish in anything he laid his hands upon she needed concrete evidence to believe in it a young mohammed too was quite unsure about his own capabilities as he suddenly found himself out in the world trying to make a name for himself he may have divulged into a different route for a while trying to ace a different game in the corporate structure but it wasnt long before he realised he can no longer hide away from his roots he soon took it as a challenge to carry on the art form without letting his fathers success and legacy overshadow his own creativity under an oak tree unfolds through a series of events in his protected formative years and adulthood to narrate the tale of his own journeymy fathers influence forms every work i have created he was a complete theatre person who embodied theatre in its entirety by living and breathing the art form he was a playwright actor and producer who did 46 plays in 46 years of his life and passed away while in the process of mounting his last production i can only aspire to be like him as a professional shares mohammed discussing his fathers influence on his creations he further adds this play is dedicated to him dedication from a theatre professional to his idol and from a son to his father simultaneously it is about him after all an oak tree and its shade could be negative like a shadow but instead it gives shelter for the acorn to grow and come into its ownproduced by his mother begum razia baig and written by his wife noor baig the play also features veteran actors rashmi seth and vijay prasad in pivotal roles a production from the house of qadir ali baig theatre foundation an organisation established by the ministry of information public relations back in 2004 has previously travelled all across the world to london dubai and singapore however mohammed feels kolkata is helmed as the theatre capital of india for all the right reasonsit has been a deeply gratifying performance for the culturally and aestheticallyevolved audiences of kolkata the audiences connected beautifully with the story its characters and the essence about family ties and carrying your parents legacy forward its lovely to perform for a theatreattuned society especially when