All the world’s a stage. But how often do women actors get to shine? A few years ago that would have been impossible. But fortunately not anymore, the scene is on a roll-over phase with more and more scripts highlighting women as the central character being written, borrowed and discussed. And when these plays with women driven subjects are staged, the audience is on a swell. The reasons aren’t much of interest but it is definitely the script, acting and the entire packaging that draws a good amount of crowd.
We met up with a few actors who are seen frequently on stage and earning applause for their acts. While for some, acting was a dream come true, for others it happened by default. But each of them know their act well, because acting has been on their minds.
Pallavi Verma : It is the format of story telling and ways of emoting that drew her to the stage. And being a Kathak dancer since the age of 7, Pallavi sought a way in doing both — story telling and dancing. “Only theatre allows this. I did plays as a student in Jabalpur, my hometown and that is where I was also groomed by a theatre practitioner. As luck would have it, I landed in Hyderabad to work with a corporate firm. This gave me the opportunity to witness the works of many theatre groups including the local ones. I was keen on getting back to acting but didn’t get a break. Instead, landed with backstage assignments, which I didn’t mind. This time around I heard about the play group Nishumbita and their requirement fit my bill as well. They gave me my first break. After that I went on to do plays like Birgees and others.
Ratika Sant Keswani : She has a very interesting way of telling how ‘she’ discovered herself as an actress. It was a game of dumb charade. That’s how she discovered her potential and made her friends sit back and take notice. “Luck was with me and I was told about an on-going acting workshop. I enrolled and honed my skill a little more and then did a play with the same group. I was cheered and appreciated. From that game of dumb charade I went on to do the solo performance of Mah Laqa Bai. For this I also learnt Urdu as I didn’t want to leave any loopholes in the character I played.”
Supriya Aysola : This Mass Communication student’s passion for acting got herself a role in a movie. Of which she is quite proud. After a year’s sabbatical post that acting assignment “I returned to the stage. This time it was a mime performance. I could tell from the response that I was liked,’’ says Supriya. This actor then went on to do many roles on stage and was also seen in a very powerful role in Birjees. For now she is working on a film assignment with digi quest. “I loved every bit of my time during the mine show.”
Anjali Parvati Koda : Anjali wasn’t an actress in the beginning and instead entered the world of theatre as a writer. She also experimented with choreography. “After my intermediate, writing plays and planning choreography kept me busy. I soon went on to start Samahara with a Ratna Shekhar Reddy. I began acting recently and did Anton Chekov’s play The Bear.
Richa Jain : She loved her school and college days of acting and wanted to pursue it as a career. Her confidence on stage made her bold about the way she emoted on stage. In college the maximum exposure she got as an actor was to act in college skits but then “we also participated in a skit competition which boosted my confidence further. After finishing college I came to Hyderabad for work and kept toying about the passion for theatre. This was when I came across an ad about an acting workshop I enrolled and I am on a roll with theatre once again. My recent best is the Natalia’s role in Anton Chekov’s Proposal.
