The unstoppable Sushma Seth

Television fans still remember Sushma Seth for her role in the 1984 serial Hum Log, where she played Imarti Devi, popularly known as Dadi. Her name also brings back memories of Sarla Durgadas Diwan, her character in the 1993 sitcom Dekh Bhai Dekh.

New Delhi-bred Sushma Seth, however, did not start her career in television or films. Her first passion was theatre, which she pursued from the late 1950s, before becoming one of the founders of the Delhi-based group Yatrik in 1964.

Her vast contribution to theatre was recognised again, when she was conferred the Lifetime Achievement honour at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) at a function in Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium on March 29. The award has been given since 2010, with a break during the lockdown. Previous winners are Badal Sircar, Zohra Sehgal, Khaled Choudhury, Ibrahim Alkazie, Girish Karnad, Heisnam Kanhai Lal, Ratan Thiyam, Arun Kakde, Vijaya Mehta, Mahesh Elkunchwar and Barry John. The ceremony was held after the Meta festival organised from March 23 to 28 by the Mahindra Group and Teamwork Arts.

Long association with META

“I was overjoyed. I have been associated with META since its inception — on the jury, as part of an appreciative audience,” says the veteran. “META has played an important role in supporting and giving a platform to theatre groups from all over India.”

Recalling the early days of Yatrik, she says, “I cherish those years . I got a chance to act in the choicest of lead roles — Rano in Ek Chadar Maili Si, Katharina in The Taming Of The Shrew, Susan in The Little Hut, and Raina in Arms And The Man. I directed Desire Under The Elms and Gandhiji’s Sadhna. I did costume, sought advertising, sold tickets. All this was while teaching speech and drama at Convent of Jesus and Mary in Delhi. It was never tiring, I always felt elated.”

Her other roles included Champa in Sakharam Binder and Gurdafarid, the warrior princess in Rustam Sohrab. “I was fortunate to work with the best of directors such as Joy Michael, Habib Tanveer, Sai Paranjpye and Rajindernath,” she says.

The shift to films happened suddenly, when Sushma Seth was offered the role of Shashi Kapoor’s aunt in Shyam Benegal’s 1978 film Junoon. “It was a learning experience as I had never acted in a film. After its release, I received offers of Prem Rog, Silsila, Swami Dada and Kalyug. The TV serial Hum Log also happened at the same time and I became ‘jagat ki dadi’. I was flying back and forth between Delhi and Mumbai.”

The one character she identified with most was of Sarla Dewan in Dekh Bhai Dekh. “Anand Mahendroo, the director, was a perfectionist. It was a refreshing comedy with spontaneous repartee. We enjoyed it as much as the audience.”

Sushma Seth (extreme left) is a recipient of the Kalpana Chawla award in 2012 in New Delhi
| Photo Credit:
SANDEEP SAXENA

Besides Yatrik, Sushma Seth was actively involved in children’s theatre from the 1970s. She founded the Children’s Creative Theatre when her children Kavi, Divya and Priya were nine, eight and seven. “It was a marvellous and exciting four weeks, with their friends and neighbourhood children participating. It ended with a 30-minute play for parents and siblings.”

The response prompted her to organise annual summer and winter drama workshops. Actors Ashish Vidyarthi, Rituraj, Loveleen Misra, Deepika Deshpande and Kamya Malhotra learnt at these sessions, as did her daughter Divya Seth.

Working with children

In the early 2000s, Sushma was invited to an event at the Basti Vikas Kendra of Arpana Trust. She found that the talented children were eager to perform. “So I devised workshops to help them gain confidence. We rehearsed and performed eight full-length dance dramas, involving 70 or 80 students,” she says.

One of her favourite works is the 2014 play Sitaron Ke Paas – Kalpana Chawla, dedicated to the life and achievements of the late astronaut. “When I attended the Kalpana Chawla Awards for Excellence event, I decided to write and stage a play with students of Arpana Trust. She was an icon they could relate to and emulate.”

The META award was finalised by a jury consisting of theatre directors Amal Allana, Bruce Guthrie and Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry, actors Mohan Agashe, Arundhati Nag and Shernaz Patel, and India Habitat Centre director Sunit Tandon. According to Jay Shah, head, cultural outreach, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sushma Seth is a veteran who “understands the complexity and nuances of theatre and has in fact lived the craft fully through her vast body of work.” This aptly sums up her contribution to Indian theatre.