Veteran theatremaker and author Sushmita Mukherjee returns to Mumbai with her solo-act, Naaribai, that adds a layer of complexity to the growing voice of women around the country
Mukherjee in performance. Pics Courtesy/Instagram
I have taken refuge in jungles at night. Do you think I am afraid of the tiger’s jaws or the policeman’s lathi?” For actor and writer Sushmita Mukherjee, the answer to this question by her character, Naaribai, depends on the experience of women. Yet, there is something familiar in its underlying anger. It is this angst, complexity of emotions and experiences that will drive her 75-minute solo act, Naaribai, that returns to an Andheri stage this week.
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“I first performed the play in a friend’s drawing room,” recalls the actress, who is most familiar to ’90s kids as Kitty, the assistant to Pankaj Kapur’s carrot-chewing detective Karamchand. Written in 2016, the work was born of her own experiences and travels through the region of Bundelkhand while doing theatre. It has also influenced her work as an author. In 2021, Mukherjee wrote, Baanjh: Incomplete Lives of Women, a collection of 11 short stories based on the conversations and stories collected through her travels.
“The play is about three women — Sushmita, an artiste speaking to Sunaina, a woman from Lutyens Delhi who is writing about Naaribai and a prostitute from Bundelkhand,” she explains. This conversation sheds light on the complex societal structure, experiences and emotions of these three women. Each one of them, she says, has a strong, hard-hitting female voice.
The titular heroine of the performance, Naaribai, is a prostitute from the OBC tribe called Bedhiyas, she reveals. “These women are called Bedhni. I have met many of them over the years. The interaction between these three women was an attempt to show that despite all the differences — caste, class, age or experience, they each find a resonance in the other,” Mukherjee shares.
These differences also emerge through the lens of perception. The author points out Naaribai is sold off in marriage to an older man at a very young age. Yet, there is no self-pity about her. Her decisions and cunning are necessary for survival. “My quest is to find out what this conversation brings out from within the other women? Modern urban society is no different to a jungle either. The struggle for a woman here is to survive relationships, for economic independence. For an artiste, it is about fears and insecurity,” she says.
A key element of the performance is language. Speaking in three tongues, English, Hindi and Bundeli. “I never chose to stray from Bundeli, even when the audience changed. I remember performing at a village named Heggodu in Karnataka. The compere made a little joke about the audience not even understanding Hindi, let alone Bundeli. On stage, I pointed to my heart and asked them, “You might not understand the language of my tongue, but can you understand the language of my heart?” In the end, that is what art is about,” the National School of Drama alumnus remarks.
In addition to the three leading ladies, the actor also adds 23 other characters to paint the background stories. The many emotions can get challenging, Mukherjee admits, adding that she usually takes a three-week period to rehearse the performance in her Malad residence. “With a solo performance, you do not have any fellow actor to play off, or riff with on stage. If you miss a beat, it is all down to you,” she laughs. With a performance so charged and resonant in current times, it is hard for her to miss the mark.
ON August 22; 7.30 pm
AT Veda Kunba Theatre, near Kokilaben Hospital, Four Bungalows, Andheri West.
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