JOIN USThe intricacies of a relationship
It’s rare to find a play which is so well-woven and rehearsed that it comes across as a peek into the daily lives of a couple — completely natural and without the sense of self-consciousness that many theatre artistes find it tough to shake off.
But that is exactly what ‘Between The Lines’ — written and directed by Nandita Das and featuring her along with her husband, Subodh Maskara, managed to achieve. It was staged recently at the MLR Convention Centre in Whitefield and drew in quite a crowd.
While the play is based on a very strong plot-line — which manages to keep the viewer interested throughout its duration — it still finds the time to explore the intricacies of a relationship and the subtle gender biases which exist even in the educated class. Nandita and Subodh are the only two cast members: they play modern-day, educated lawyers Maya and Shekhar.
While Shekhar is a high-profile criminal lawyer, Maya handles more routine, contract-related work. The first scene of the play manages to establish much about the dynamic of their relationship, painting a picture of a normal, domestic everyday routine. They have been married 10 years, have a young son and are happy together.
Over the course of the play, however, the cracks begin to show. While Maya claims to be happy that her husband has tasted such success, she does occasionally rue the fact that she hasn’t taken advantage of her own opportunities in a professional sense. Things come to a head when she takes up her first case in years — defending a woman accused of shooting her husband, and Shekhar transpires to be the prosecution’s lawyer.
The manner in which Maya is shown to start questioning her equality with her husband and how she slowly begins to relate with her client — a woman so subjugated in her marriage that she had no vestiges of self-esteem left — are portrayed brilliantly in the production.
The arguments that the couple find themselves having repeatedly are incredibly related; plenty of audience members were seen nodding their heads in agreement or commenting on having been through something similar. And although it would seem that in writing the play, the lead actors were painted into a corner — a situation which would never resolve themselves — they reach a compromise that is both satisfactory as well as believable.
The play was adapted from a work by writer-academician Purushottam Agarwal. “The kernel of the idea came from there,” explains Nandita, adding, “I was offered that role years ago but it didn’t take off. One day, I was clearing papers off my desk when I came across it again and realised it was an interesting idea. We took the rights for it and began working.”
She collaborated with Divya Jagdale, also an actor, when it came to the writing process.
“It was nice to work with a collaborator, since it gives a certain sense of discipline. The script developed — it changed a lot during rehearsals. It was a daunting task, but an interesting one,” she sums up.