The similarity between the artist and her performance is remarkable. Like her works which are suffused with energy and enthusiasm, actor and director Yuki Ellias too exudes warmth and verve. While her plays inspire the audience to think, her conversation makes one ponder over the points raised by her. We meet for a luncheon interaction at the Mist restaurant at the Park where Ellias staged Elephant In The Room her latest creation at The Park’s New Festival which completed 10 years this year.
Ellias made her directorial debut last year with a sci-fi comedy, Charge about addiction to virtual reality. This year she has already made Dying To Succeed , depicting Shakespearean characters in a corporate world and Yatagarasu , a dance theatre show about seven classmates coming of age with Elephant In The Room being the latest. “I have been wanting to make ‘Elephant In..’ for the last three years and the opportunity came when the Park Festival offered to back it. It is a story about a boy who has an elephant head and is in search of his missing one. This journey of his brings in its wake the story of identity, patriarchy and the idea of the balance between God, man and nature.”
On how she hit upon the idea, she reveals that fond of stories about Lord Ganapati, she always wondered as to what happened to the elephant whose head was beheaded. “I wondered what that myth would become if I made a story based on that. I discussed this idea with Senh Sapru and together we created the plot and characters while she wrote the dialogues. Like a good myth we touch upon many themes and that is what I think myths were created for.” In this one hour solo show in English, Ellias gets to play eight characters including that of Master Tuck, the young boy, Makadi, the spider and Moork, the poacher among others.
“We all know the Ganapati story and I am trying to find out another one which is completely fictional based on what could happen if. It is not to provoke but a natural story of identity and finding who you are? ‘Elephant In The Room’ explores what makes Ganapati a loveable god. It is my way of finding what make Him so lovable and my tribute to Him,” says Ellias.
Like her earlier production, Yatagarasu , this show too is been described as something which a family can watch together. Happy about children liking her shows, Ellias, says, “While ‘Yatagarasu’ has stories about what growing up in school means with which children can easily identify with, I was thrilled to see children above eight upwards attending ‘Elephant In The Room’ and those above 14 thinking about the questions it raises especially about the balance between man and nature. I have been told to take this play to the schools like ‘Yatagarasu’.” Aware of the fact that the audience for the English performer director is very limited, Ellias feels shows like this will help in increasing her audience by reaching out to children.
Meanwhile the staff, moves in to enquire about starters and beverages. Refusing both, Ellias quickly decides to abide by their recommendation for king prawns in Schezwan sauce with vegetarian fried rice for lunch.
Growing up in Mumbai, Ellias comes from family steeped in creativity. Her mother Bina Sarkar Ellias is the editor, designer and publisher of International Gallerie, a global arts and ideas journal while her father Rafeeq Ellias is a photographer and National Award winning documentary filmmaker. “My inclination to performing arts was due to my parents. Both very creative people are natural performers at home when they tell stories and imitate other people. So I have their genetic coding. Also my maternal grandmother, Protima used to love theatre, acted in one Hindi film ‘Savitri’ directed by Phani Majumdar under the screen name Sucheta.” Ellias also praises her school and college for giving her scope and space to follow her passion for acting and music. “I participated in numerous plays and also learnt to play flute,” says Ellias.
Discussing the role of genetics in shaping her career, Ellias says it also made a great foodie. “Since my maternal grandmother hailed from Bengal I enjoy illish mach, poshto, simple dal chawal with fried baigan and rosogulla and with my paternal grandmother being a Katchi Memon I acquired the taste for biryani with keema samosa, raita made of pudina and coriander chutney. My parents too are excellent cooks and trained my brother and me to cook when we were children.”
Veering back to acting, Ellias reveals that naturally inclined towards acting she started doing lead roles in school and college but never thought of it as a career. “At that time nobody thought on those lines and much less that I would join the Paris L’Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq.” Then how did she join this world renowned training centre for theatre? “Like all the starting points of my life have been purely accidental this one was too,” she quips.
The piping hot prawns and the rice are served. Taking a bite Ellias nods in approval while continuing her saga in Paris. “There they do not teach you how to act and they do not give you a script. The whole course is about understanding the world through its movements and nature and how and where do we share rhythms and energies with everything around us and then use that as a palette. It is a beautiful process, holistic making you appreciate beauty in the world, aesthetics and the invisible dynamics of what moves us as opposed to the idea that I want to move in others.” That was not all. It changed her outlook forever. “As they take in only 30 students from initial batch of 90, it simply changed my gears making me competitive and giving up the laid back attitude. Besides making me desire and want something, the school instilled in me the fighting spirit not physically, but mentally. I was encouraged to think and articulate my ideas and convince others about it. I still recall my argument with my French classmate on a particular concept. Neither could I not speak fluent French nor could he English. So we had this Canadian classmate who stood in the middle translating from English to French and vice versa.”
Ellias moves on to a couple of slices of the margherita thin crust pizza which she likes. Paris did not just train Ellias for stage but also gave a new dimension to her cooking skills. Encouraged to cook since childhood, she took to baking on weekends with her brother and neighbourhood friends. “I would make cookies, cakes and pies which turned out to be tasty. Since my grandmothers, parents and brother were excellent cooks I never had to cook other things. Missing Indian food in Paris I turned to cooking. I called up my mother and neighbours to learn recipes while surfing the net. Soon I was turning out chholas and poha for the girls in my dormitory.”
Now over the years having honed her culinary skills, she has mastered the art of making delicious chocolate chip and banana cake, pineapple upside down cake, keema hara masala with pav, Bengali dish poshto, specially the bindi poshto and the Goan fish curry which she learnt from her Pakistani aunt. “One dish I used to make well was the beef stew but now I can’t as it is banned. So there is one dish gone!”
Ellias counts herself very fortunate, when it comes to enjoying an array of Indian cuisines at home. “Food from all corners of the country and world make it our dining table. Besides the Bengali and Katchi dishes, as a Mumbaikar, I get to taste the great Maharastrian bhakri and fish curry.” Is she not forgetting the city’s famous street food? “Of course, not as I love the chaat, the bhelpuri and pav bhaji. Similarly I like Delhi’s chhole kulcha and Chandni Chowk’s moong dal and gajar ka halwa and kachoris.” Not missing a chance to jest, she adds, “I am avoiding this time round because of the raging viral fever in the city.”
On request, Ellias agrees to have gulab jamun, one of her favourite desserts. “Even though when travelling abroad I love to taste the local cuisine in order to connect with people, understand their culture, over a prolonged stay I miss eating rice with simple dal made at home with garlic, jeera, hari mirchi and pudina.”
All set to leave after this wonderful lunch and conversation, Ellias while walking towards the exit tells me that all theatre persons are great food lovers. “Both are labours of love, passion and dedication. Food and theatre are sensual. One needs to feel and enjoy an excellent play and delicacy.”
