What: Peechha Karti Parchayyaiyan in association with t2
Where: GD Birla Sabhagar
When: March 3, 7pm to 9.30pm
Directed by: K.K. Raina
Music: Sanjoy Dazz, Ambar Das and Ila Arun
 

About the play: Peechha Karti Parchayyaiyan is a Hindi adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. It’s set in a royal family that has lost its grandeur but lives on its feudal glories, clinging on to old traditions and decrepit lifestyles. The play focuses on how these outdated traditions and their repercussions come back to haunt future generations, preventing them from breaking away from the shackles perpetuated by their ancestors. 

The players: Ila Arun, K.K. Raina, Rahul Bagga, Vijay Kashyap, Donna Munshi

Tickets: Rs 100 to Rs 1,500, available on bookmyshow.com and at the venue. 

Organiser Speak: “The play is a wonderful adaptation of Ibsen’s Ghosts. We are happy to have Ilaji performing again at Sabhagar,” said Urvi Nopany of Centre Stage Creations.

A few days before her play Peechha Karti Parchayyaiyan comes to the city, t2 spoke to actor, singer and script-writer Ila Arun about her journey with Ibsen, her “women in veils” and the film she is excited about. 

You seem to like Henrik Ibsen’s plays a lot…

Well, my journey with Ibsen began in 2010 when I was asked to stage one of his plays at the DADA Ibsen International Festival in Delhi. At that time I didn’t have much knowledge about Ibsen’s works except for a few plays such as A Doll’s House. That is when I started reading Ibsen. As you know, I have always been concerned with a woman’s voice, and hence I ended up liking Ibsen’s plays a lot. I realised what he had said so many years back is still so, so relevant in India! And then I went to Norway to attend their national theatre festival and watched many a staging of Ibsen’s plays and I was impressed to say the least.

What was the first Ibsen play you staged?

It was an adaptation of The Lady from the Sea and I named it Mareechika. You see the condition of women in India is like a mirage. They see the water, they go towards it, they struggle and keep going only to find at the end that it was nothing but a dry desert with no hope of water. Metaphorically, it is what the women go through every day in this country. I would love to bring that play to Calcutta. 

So you have chosen those Ibsen plays that voice the plight of women.

Yes, my primary concern is all those women in veils. You have to understand… pura India toh Bombay Calcutta nahin hai. There are many parts of this country where honour killing still exists. Times have changed and we have made much progress in many fields but the basic way of thinking about women has not changed much. Till date, there are many women who don’t have a choice in how to lead their lives. And Ibsen’s work voices that concern. 

Tell us about Peechha Karti Parchayyaiyan...

I had adapted Ibsen’s Ghosts into this play last year. Calcutta will watch the eighth show. The protagonist is caught between her freedom of choice and age-old traditions and past incidents that come back like ghosts to haunt her. Many people talk about morality while they care a damn when it comes to their own bedroom. The play has a lot of sarcasm and allows us to raise important questions about our society without being preachy. It’s entertainment that makes you think. 
How has it been working with Calcutta director Srijit Mukherji in Begum Jaan?

Oh, I am excited about Begum Jaan.... Working with Srijit has been a great experience. I guess I have done the role that Lily Chakraborty had done in the Bengali film Rajkahini. I hope people like the film. 

Any other film on the horizon?

I am acting in a film called Ghumketu by Pushpendra Misra, and it also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film is expected to release in October.

Sibendu Das