Mila Deb as Dushala
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
These women on stage are strong, sensitive and fighting for a space of their own. Hyderabad-based theatre group, Sutradhar celebrates International Women’s Day with Adhikar, a set of two plays, in Bengali and Hindi titled Dhuli Kanya Dushala and Weekend respectively, on March 4. Directed by Vinay Varma, the plays narrate stories of two powerful women from different yugas seeking identity.’
Dushala is the story of the 101st child of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari from the Kaurava clan in the Mahabharata and Weekend is about a woman caught between love and memories.
Vinay Varma
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Dhuli Kanya Dhushala was originally written as Thu Chataai and Dushala in Tamil and English by Pritham K Chakravarthy and translated by Rita Ghosh in Bengali. “There is little known about Dushala in scriptures ; Pritham has come up with this character after a lot of research,” says Vinay adding, “Dushala was a shadow to the mother. She had always felt neglected as her mother was keener on bringing up the 100 sons.”
Dushala was a script begging to be staged and the cosmos conspired to send a Bengali actor Mila Deb itching for a performance, says Vinay. Retaining the original references, Mila Deb in a 60-minute performance portrays Dushala’s different facets as a daughter, wife, mother and finally a woman fighting for space in a patriarchal society.
From a trilogy
Mila Deb
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Taken from Nirmal Verma’s famous trilogy Teen Ekaant, the second play, Weekend performed by Ratika Sant Keswani in Hindi was something Vinay had wanted to do for years but did not have the courage. “I felt I did not have a grasp over the subject and its nuanced language. I wanted to absorb its essence and find a suitable actor who also had command over the diction.”
A scene from the play ‘Weekend’
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The play gave the director an opportunity to explore the narrative structure to set it in one location (the script divides the stage into two — her room and the park where the protagonist watches the man and his daughter playing). “In the original, she reminisces through a tape recorder, but we used a diary to keep it contemporary and also subtly emphasise the importance of writing in today’s digital world.”
Vinay says that both plays helped him connect with his roots. “The exciting part was incorporating Odissi, Bharatanatyam and folk elements for mudras in Dushala. That’s the beauty of theatre; it teaches you constantly with every script and show and pushes your boundaries.”
Vinay hopes the plays will strike a chord with the audience. “More than a beautiful set, good looking actors and costumes, what eventually matters is the performance that’ll keep the audience hooked.”
Adhikaar features two solo acts to be staged at Lamakaan on March 4; Tickets: ₹250; bookmyshow.com
