Delhi and Gurugram have evolved audiences: Suchitra Krishnamoorthi

It’s not the first time that singer-actor Suchitra Krishnamoorthi will take to the stage to showcase her theatrical prowess. But during the time that she couldn’t perform on the stage — like other artistes, who were forced to stay away from live shows due to the pandemic — she only thought how to come back with a bang!

“The pandemic was specifically a hard time for live performers,” recalls Krishnamoorthi, who is till date popular among Bollywood lovers for playing the female lead in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994). “I had artist friends, musicians to be exact, who just earned their bread and butter from live performances and the pandemic hit them so badly. Some of them had to literally ask for food and money to help survive day to day… I feel fortunate that I, as a performer, didn’t have to go through all that and I had the means to bounce back as soon as live performances and theatre opened up. So, I feel grateful and blessed, and I’m supercharged. I come into my element when I perform on stage. And I feel empowered!”

This weekend, the 46-year-old returns to the Delhi stage with her play Drama Queen, which has been revised and Krishnamoorthi says, “I have revamped the show! We have added animation, some new songs and reworked the entire music for the play, making it crisp. Earlier, it was a longer show with an interval. Now it’s just one hour and five minutes… Many people keep thinking it’s recorded music but I’m singing them all live with backing tracks. The story is such that some of it move in tunes, some in words, they weave in and out of each other. There is a long dialogue and suddenly I break into a song, then again it goes back into dialogue. The difference is more visible in the audience’s reaction because the response has been so encouraging. So I think I have done the right thing.”

Looking forward to performing for the theatre lovers in the Capital, and to see how they react to the play, she adds: “Delhi and Gurugram have evolved audiences and theatre culture is very rich. So, I’m sure they will react to the play very maturely and positively. We have kept the set very basic because we are travelling a lot and source locally. I wanted to be as practical as possible and being the producer, I have to think about the financial aspect as well (smiles).”

From being the face of the play to producing it, Krishnamoorthi believes in enjoying the process and not let the little details bother her. “Being an actor, you are literally like a salaried employee. But when you are producing, you are employing yourself and everyone else involved. It’s daunting and challenging, but I think I’m managing it okay. With a little more experience I think I’ll be pretty good at it. Suddenly, even if we have five kilo of excess baggage, I’m like ‘Oh God’. I’m constantly counting how many tickets have been sold. So, these are considerations that come in but at the same time. I want to keep myself free enough to enjoy the process. As long as I get the kind of response that I have been getting, I feel like it’s all worth it,” shares the actor, feeling elated that people are returning to theatre now: “It’s more lucrative than before. However, it still is like a poor cousin of cinema and that needs to be changed.”

The play, which is an excerpt from her book by the same name, traces the events that transpired over two-three days. “I’ve kept it very light and funny and used only the relevant back story. Also, I’ll soon be travelling with the to audiences abroad, where I’m a complete stranger. So I consciously tried to make it in such a way that anyone can understand. You don’t have to know anything about the character or the person which is why I had to add the back story and the animations, to give a context to everything,” she informs.

“Drama Queen is something that I have written for myself. Also, theatre gives me a lot of scope as an actor, singer and writer. For me, it’s a showcase of all my varied talents and interests,” says the actor, who believes that anybody else couldn’t have done justice to her character. “The simple reason being that I don’t think anybody else has this kind of repertoire or talent in the various field of arts. At least, I’m not aware. Maybe Woody Allen! Over the years, I have developed my writing and painting and I have put everything together in this production,” she adds.

When she decided to make a comeback in acting, and chose the medium of theatre and this story, which is so personal, it was sure daunting. But now she finds the entire process rewarding. “You just hope that no one will boo you and laugh you out off the stage. None of that happened and I have become more confident and I just hope I can take it to larger and more varied audiences. Also, it is a reward I have given myself,” she says, adding, “Initially, I was quite scared because humour doesn’t always travel well; it doesn’t always translate. But when I saw how the audience reacted, I realised that people identified with the story. Somewhere, our experiences and emotions are universal. So, for me, it was really rewarding to know that I have touched a chord with so many people. I have had people, especially women, coming and clutching my hand and saying that they felt like it was their story. Your amma (mum) could be my amma and thanks for telling us what we couldn’t even identify. Of course, there have been one or two people who have been offended and everyone is entitled to their opinion.”

The play, in many ways, also rewrites the boundaries of womanhood. Agreeing that feminist theatre still remains to be a small part of the larger discourse in India, Krishnamoorthi believes that one needs to have the guts to tell the stories of women, and push the boundaries. “As I have finally decided, you need to have the guts to put your money where your mouth is. So unless women start doing it for themselves and each other, barriers will always be there and ultimately the barriers are only in our heads. In fact, that is one of the things that I have tackled in this play; this whole conditioning of women thinking that they can’t manage on their own, or they are not good enough and need someone else to feel better about themselves, to validate their existence and feel powerful. I have tackled all these issues as it’s something that is inherent in our conditioning where we feel compelled to take a back seat,” she concludes.

Catch It Live

What: Drama Queen Refreshed

Where: Kamani Auditorium (Copernicus Marg) and Apparel House (Epicentre, Gurugram)

When: June 4 and 5, respectively

Timing: 8pm

Nearest Metro Station: Mandi House on Blue Line and Huda City Centre on Yellow Line

Author tweets @AngelaPaljor

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