When professional and personal lives collide

FAMILY DRAMA

Between The Lines’, a play starring Nandita Das and Subodh Maskara, was organised by the Indian Foundation for the Arts at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall recently.

The English play, with a few Hindi dialogues, was based on contemporary India where educated and affluent couples are caught between modernity and tradition. It portrayed the relationship of a lawyer couple with a nine-year-old son.

Shekhar is a high profile criminal lawyer while Maya’s work involves drafting routine contracts for a law firm. She balances her work and personal life by keeping a tab on the housework and family affairs.

But there is a twist in the plot when the two have to fight a case in which she is the defence lawyer while he is the prosecutor. Being on the opposite sides of an attempted murder case affects the couple’s personal life.

The play started on a comic note as Subodh asked the audience to move closer to the stage as there were vacant seats in front. The stage setting was simple yet sophisticated with the space separated into two sections to depict two rooms.

Over 1 hour and 40 minutes long, the play clearly depicted the frustration of the multi-tasking wife through humourous and dramatic dialogues. The acting skills of the artistes were seen even in the scenes which had no dialogues. While witty one-liners were included in the play, the importance of the issue was communicated well as the crowd sat immersed.

Ruhani Rajkumar, a member of the audience, felt the script unfolded the many hidden sentiments of a couple. “In many scenes, I saw myself and my partner. But the climax was what reassured most of us,” she smiled.

The play, which was an entertainer to most, acted as a mirror to some. Sujatha Arvind, a fashion designer, recollected the times when her parents would have an argument and reconcile without anyone in the family noticing it.

 “The need to forgive and let go is a must today. And that was clearly seen in this script,” she said.

“While the first half of the play was dragging, the second half was more emotional and hard-hitting,” commented Mayur Bharadwaj, a young professional.