Mumbai: Hit by demonetization Sitara Studio struggles for survival

Sitara Studio co-founders Shubhangi Swarup and Nikhil Hemrajani. Pic/Ashish Raje

In late 2012, the industrial galas of Lower Parel got an unlikely neighbour when journalist couple Nikhil Hemrajani and Shubhangi Swarup decided to give Sitara Studio, a family-run space used for shoots, a new lease of life. Sitara soon acquired the identity of a thriving and much-needed alternative performance venue, a space that the city's art practitioners took to immediately, even as its location and ambience took a while to grow on some of the audience members.

The studio also played a part in paving the way for other alternative spaces to come up in the city by setting an example that it was possible, after all, to host performances in non-proscenium set-ups, where creators could be truly experimental with their content. It comes as a surprise, then, that Sitara Studio hasn't hosted a performance for close to a year. A chat with the founders reveals that the ghost of demonetisation continues to haunt indie art and related ventures a year and a half after the announcement was made.

An earlier performance at Sitara Studio

No one saw it coming
"Demonetisation hit us very hard. No one saw it coming. When it came into effect, it took us a while to realise people had stopped hiring the studio for shoots because of it," says Hemrajani, explaining how the studio would be rented out as a shoot location for about 15 days a month, and the money would be ploughed back into it to sustain the space as an alternative performance venue. "It came to a point where we were not breaking even. And you can afford to not break even for a month or even a couple of months, but not an entire year," he adds.

Swarup explains why demonetisation dealt a particularly strong blow to them. "We wanted to run a space that is unapologetic about the city. If you see the area in which we are located, the economic class that surrounds the studio is very different from the one across the road. If we can all inhabit the same geographical space, then why can't the venue reflect this diversity?" she says, adding that the philosophy reflected in their decision to not do up the space and also in their programming, which was particularly open to ideas that had not been staged in Mumbai, but the city needed for its cultural well-being. "And to keep this freedom intact, we didn't want organisational backing," says Hemrajani.

It'll bounce back
The bold programming was appreciated in the fraternity. Quasar Thakore Padamsee talks of how his father, ad guru and theatre personality Alyque Padamsee once chose to catch a performance at Sitara Studio over a show at the NCPA. Fellow theatre artiste Yuki Ellias, who has opened several of her plays at the studio, says, "Theatre has never had it easy, and Sitara was truly experimental with Nikhil and Shubhangi as real champions of the arts. Far from the typical uninvolved owners, they cheered us through the whole process."

Theatre company QTP's co-founder Toral Shah agrees. "The studio is still feeding the community as a rehearsal space. It may be dormant right now, but I am still hopeful it will bounce back," she says.

Things indeed have been looking better since February this year, but the duo wants to take their time before taking another plunge. "We are not keen on being the only two people running the show. Perhaps, Sitara can make a comeback if it's run by a collective of people from various streams of art," says Hemrajani. Swarup shares how setbacks such as these can drain one emotionally and financially. "Unfortunately, it's like the flight safety instruction, where you have to put on your oxygen mask before helping co-passengers."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates