‘Salaam, Noni Appa’, a short story from Twinkle Khanna’s best-selling book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad is a heart-warming story of relationships — of the bond between two elderly sisters, Noni and Binny, and the former finding love in her sunset years. The humour is effortless, mostly gentle and occasionally leading to laugh aloud moments.
A day after the book hit the shelves, actor and theatre director Lillete Dubey was at a popular Mumbai bookstore and chanced upon the book, which is a collection of four stories. ‘Salaam, Noni Appa’ stuck a chord in more ways than one. “I share a great bond with my sister; we are soul sisters. And, I lost my husband two and a half years ago; I am also closer to the age group of Noni and Binny,” says Lillete.
A male perspective
At the time of reading the story, she didn’t analyse it. She loved it and felt it could be a play. She messaged Twinkle Khanna. A few meetings and sharing of ideas later, the production rolled.
Engaging a middle-aged woman writer to adapt this story to stage would have been a predictable approach. But Lillete wanted a younger, male perspective and asked Adhir Bhat to write the play.
“A lot of the story is descriptive, like the hilarious segment of the sisters in their first yoga class helped by Anand ji . Adhir brought in a few dialogues to make it suitable to stage,” says Lillete, who liked Adhir’s ease with wit.
‘Salaam, Noni Appa’ happened at a time when Lillete was looking to do something different. She’s acted and directed a spectrum of productions — placing a mirror to society and discussing sexual abuse, plays focusing on classical music and dance, on Gandhi, on women in the aftermath of war… A few friends pointed out that she hadn’t acted in, though she had directed, new plays in the last five years.
Lillete found ‘Salaam, Noni Appa’ endearing. “It wasn’t dark, complex or brooding. But the challenge was to make this beautiful story interesting for theatre audience,” she says.
Lillete appreciates Twinkle Khanna’s unpretentious writing and her keen sense of observation of everyday lives. “There’s wry humour; Twinkle’s way of writing is sincere. Maybe there’s a nice turn of phrase somewhere, but she doesn’t write to impress. For the stage, I felt this kind of humour would be good. This wasn’t slapstick or sex comedy, but about relationships,” continues Lillete.
As an actor, Lillete remembers people appreciating her work in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, “It was a simple role of a frazzled mom. There was no drama. The experience with this play is similar. To create something simple and appealing is also tough.”
Lillete calls herself a “restlessly creative person” and says she enjoyed adapting ‘Salaam, Noni Appa’ to stage as much as she enjoyed working on plays by veteran writers such as Girish Karnad, Mahasweta Devi or Mahesh Dattani. “People might enjoy someone’s style of work but it shouldn’t get repetitive. As an actor-director, I want to explore different genres and dimensions,” she says and cites an example of Amitav Ghosh’s work. “When I pick up his book, I know it’s backed by extensive research and will have a historical, socio-political context. But each story and narration is new. Similarly, as an artiste I try different styles.”
‘Salaam, Noni Appa’ has been staged in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and will continue to tour other cities in India. Plans are on for an extensive US tour; Singapore and London are also in the pipeline.
So far, she’s been enthused with the response, coupled with standing ovations from the audience. “You can’t buy standing ovations, can you?” Lillete laughs in her trademark style.
Rendezvous with Noni: ‘Salaam, Noni Appa’ (duration: 90 minutes) will be staged in Hyderabad on November 11; 5:30pm and 8pm; BRN Auditorium, Road no.12 Banjara Hills. Tickets on bookmyshow.com
Adapted by Adhir Bhat and directed by Lillete Dubey, the play features Lillete as Noni, Jayati Bhatia as Binny, Darshan Jariwala as Anand ji , Meher Dar in double roles of Noni’s daughter Mallika and Anandji’s wife. Rishi Khurana plays the house help Baburam, and this role is an extension of what’s in the book, with the character promising plenty of laughs. A Showhouse Productions’ presentation. FabIndia has lent its support to the pan-Indian tour of the play and provides costumes and accessories for the cast and on-stage furnishing.
