From Page to Stage – The Kite Runner at NCPA Mumbai Takes Flight

 “For you, a thousand times over” When Khaled Hosseini wrote those words, he etched literary history. However, hearing them spoken aloud under stage lights at the NCPA Mumbai in a haunting silence, that’s what held one’s breath. This story was one such story that was meant not just to be read but also to be felt. 

This June 2025, The Kite Runner landed on Indian soil in the form of a heart-wrenching stage adaptation, where it was not only a packed houseful that evening, but everyone waited with bated breath to watch this play. I still remember reading this novel when I had lost interest in reading altogether, but this book stood out from the rest, paving a special place in my heart. 

 

The play, which was directed with sensitivity and restraint, drew all of Mumbai’s theatre and literary lovers together. Directed by Tahera, the founder of Arena Theatre Productions, the play has been produced by Ayisha and Tahera under Arena Theatre Productions. It has been adapted by American playwright Mathew Spangler. This play swept through all the emotional highs and lows possible of Amir’s journey from guilt to redemption.

 

Caste, a divider which yet separates people in current times, also separates people back then – to be precise, by class and ethnicity: Hassan, a Hazara boy, and his childhood friend Amir, who was a Pashtun Muslim. 

The Story Cut So Deep: Following the same narrative as the book, set in the backdrop of Afghanistan’s destruction, a wealthy boy, Amir and his father’s servant’s son, Hassan, were two boys who grew up together in the 1970s in Kabul. This play was truly magnetic and touching, as each page was brought to life in the play adaptation.

 

What really stood out in the play were the kite-fighting scenes, where there were minimal props but both Hassan and Amir had extremely clever movements, and the use of lights made us feel the heartbreak of the blue kite falling from the sky.  

 

The assault scene too was handled with the use of not only an eerie silence and use of darkness and curtains, but I felt frozen sitting in the audience. It was not graphic but extremely gut-wrenching, and I could feel the pain that Hassan perhaps felt when Amir betrayed him. 

 

While reading The Kite Runner was like carrying a slow-burning candle, the play handed me a torch which was far sharper, brighter and displayed the urgency of each situation.

 

All the characters did a brilliant job bringing the book alive. Some appearances were of less time, such as Soraiya and Rahim Khan. Feeling those emotions in that intimate setting of the stage – Amir and Hassan were right there; it was like we had been thrown into their world. 

 

The importance of friendship was highlighted throughout the play, as was the book.  The line from the book, “There’s always a way to make wrong right”, echoes throughout the play. It wasn’t just a single sentence; it was a lifetime. 

 

Amir’s guilt from betrayal to redemption teaches us that although guilt may linger on, it doesn’t have to define us. Syed Saad, who played the role of Amir, Subharthi Kundu, who played the role of Hassan and his son, Sohrab, and Sheiraphi Silda Thangkhiew, who played the role of Baba, played such important roles in the play. Lisha Bajaj portrayed Soraya, Amir's wife, adding emotional resonance to the narrative. 

 

To sum it all up, you cannot bury the past; it always crawls its way out.