Arpita has an all-consuming passion right now. That of bringing the enigmatic Gauhar Jaan to life. She chatted with The Telegraph on My Name is Jaan that will premiere at GD Birla Sabhagar on June 25, around the singing superstar’s 148th birth anniversary, followed by a second show at the same venue on June 27.

‣ The life and times of Gauhar Jaan is fascinating to say the least. It’s got elements of drama, romance and heartbreak. How much are you enjoying this process of bringing Gauhar Jaan to life?

We have been working on this from last August-September, starting with research and scripting. It took four months to finalise the script. Then my preparations started. I wrapped up my pending projects like Abbar Kanchanjangha and Abar Bochhor Koori Pore in between. Post that I have been fully into it.

The journey has been wonderful. I am reinventing myself as a person and more so as an artiste. Gauhar Jaan’s personal life and life as an artiste are both fascinating. Playing Gauhar Jaan has been somewhat living her life for me. We all have been going through possibly the longest period of uncertainty in our life. The negativity, however, hasn’t affected me that much as I have been engrossed with the preparations. I am spending a lot of time in the Gauhar Jaan universe and it is doing wonders for me.

‣ When did you first learn about Gauhar Jaan?

I started training in Hindustani classical music when I was really tiny. I would sit on my guruji’s lap to reach the harmonium. It went on for years. Her name must have cropped up during this journey.

‣ How did the project happen?

It happened organically. I have been a part of a theatrical production only once in my life with Natir Puja by Swapnasandhani, directed by Koushik Sen. Ever since I have been looking for an opportunity to get back on stage. At the same time I knew that theatre is time-consuming and the process is different from that of films. I was looking for an appropriate window so that I can entirely focus on this. Abanti Chakraborty is directing it. She has won several accolades and is an independent artist. I have seen her productions at Academy (of Fine Arts) and loved them. She had initially approached me for a film, which led to a theatre proposal, an opportunity I couldn’t resist. We both got busy after that. Last year she touched base again and I felt this was the right time to utilise the time at hand.

Abanti proposed the idea of depicting Gauhar Jaan’s life on stage… her dream project. She said perhaps only I could do justice to the role because the role demands singing, dancing and acting, that too live.

This project wouldn’t have been possible without my friend and business partner Barun Das, one of the main pillars of this production. Though he is a corporate gentleman and not a part of this industry, he knows and reads peoples’ pulse, possibly better than anyone I have ever known. He always tells me that my talent hasn’t been leveraged entirely and possibly this is the project that will do justice to it. (Laughs)

Lotus Herbals has partnered with us in this project.

‣ Did you contemplate on the proposal or was it a straightaway ‘yes’, given the scope of performance?

I didn’t think twice. It’s a one-woman play and hence extremely challenging. Shanghatik kothin ekta bishoy niye felechhi (laughs). Ekta kotha bolte pari, aamar life-e ekhon aar kichhu nei Gauhar Jaan chhara. I am putting in loads of effort and more than 100 per cent.

‣ How have you gone about preparing for it?

I started with the songs, all Gauhar Jaan songs. Though I had a comfort zone and a foundation because classical music has been a part of my life forever, kintu tatey bohu bochhorer dhulo moila pore gechhe. I had to hone and polish it. Rajyasree Ghosh, professor of Rabindra Bharati University in the department of classical music, has been teaching me. I can’t tell you how knowledgeable and what a great teacher she is. Abanti put me on to her. Had I not met her, it would have been impossible to pull it off. It has been more than a couple of months if not more that I have been learning from her and practising intensely.

Raktim Goswami is training me in Kathak and I am having to learn it from scratch because I am trained in Bharatanatyam and not Kathak. So, homework has increased manifold (laughs). Classical music and dance need years of practice. You cannot pick it up overnight. Bolai baahullo, aamar onek onek notun jinish shekha hochchey.

‣ Give us a glimpse of your day now…

An hour and a half is dedicated to riyaaz. We are done with the enactment structure too. So, that practice takes a couple of hours. Dance is also a part of the schedule now. You cannot do it back to back as it is pretty strenuous. Believe you me, I have no time for anything else apart from Gauhar Jaan now.

‣ Being a complete performer yourself, which parts of Gauhar Jaan, the artiste, fascinate you?

She could feel the pulse of the audience, which you don’t get to see much in classical singers. They are quite orthodox about their craft. Whereas, she was a full-fledged entertainer. She also set trends with the way she dressed, in keeping with the occasion and kind of audience. Simply amazing! She was way ahead of her times.

She was the first artiste from India whose voice was recorded by Gramophone Company. She sang in seven languages and never restricted herself to only Hindustani classical music. She also had an amazing range of the kind of music that she sang, from toppa, thumri to kirtan and classical. It’s sad that we haven’t been able to restore and preserve her original voice. What you hear on YouTube is certainly not her original voice. The concept of preservation is dismal in India and this is something which struck me again while doing this project.

‣ Gauhar Jaan’s tragic life is heartbreaking as well. Which parts of her personal life left you moved?

As a person, she motivated me immensely and is an ideal icon of women empowerment. She fought all her battles alone. Men eyed her money and exploited her repeatedly, but she never gave up. No amount of atrocity from the world of men could stop her. It seems that every betrayal and exploitation only made her stronger. Though as a woman, she always searched for true love, which she never got.

As a person, I believe no matter how much wealth you have or how talented you are, if you don’t love someone or are loved by someone, then you are not complete.

‣ And history repeats itself…

Absolutely, even now we don’t have that courage. The society hasn’t changed much. In our patriarchal society women are often seen as an object for procreation and discharging household chores. But this rotten mindset has to change for our society to prosper.

Play: My name is Jaan

Presented by: Lotus Herbals

Protagonist: Arpita Chatterjee

Creative producer: Barun Das

Director: Abanti Chakraborty

Script: Abanti Chakraborty and Barun Das

Music director: Joy Sarkar

Music trainer: Rajyasree Ghosh

Choreographer: Raktim Goswami

MUSIC DIRECTOR SPEAK

Eta challenge hishebe niyni prothome because I had been wanting to do this for a long time. For me she is an artiste whose life is so bornomoy and her journey as a singer is so full of variety. I am enjoying the journey. This is not Gauhar Jaan’s life alone, but also depicts Calcutta and the music of those times. I am time-travelling and loving it. We are trying to be as true to that period as possible. Arpita is working very hard and she sings wonderfully. That there is shastriya sangeet taleem in her, eta shunle bojha jai. Abanti has dug up a lot of information and there has been some work on Gauhar Jaan too. I wrote about sound engineering in a magazine for which I had to research quite a bit about her. Gauhar Jaan’s song was recorded in 1902. The Great Eastern Hotel was converted into a studio overnight. She had piqued my interest back then too — Joy Sarkar

DIRECTOR SPEAK

I always encourage myself to think a little outside of the box. I like to imagine. Gauhar Jaan’s passionate tale inspired me to imagine a whole new universe. The artiste in her, the wrong choice of men in her life, the pain, the humiliation, her huge success and glamour, her angst as an artiste and finally her tragedy has inspired me. Moreover, I love to deal with musical vocabulary on stage. Gauhar Jaan surprises me and I love to surprise myself. It’s really a fascinating journey.

I wanted to see Gauhar Jaan alive on stage! And, Arpita is making my dream come true. She is not only an extremely passionate and disciplined actor but also an efficient singer. So who can be a better Gauhar for me…. I believe that theatre is a collaborative process. Arpita is developing her own role and character in relation to the other aspects of stage elements, music and audience. My job as a director is to orchestrate how all of the elements intertwine and speak to one another and, Arpita, as a solo actor, plays the crucial part here — Abanti Chakraborty

Pictures: Pabitra Das

Costume and styling: Poulami Gupta

Jewellery: Zenith Jewellery and Jhulan Dey

Hair and make-up: Aniruddha Chakladar