Life of Devika Rani on stage

Actor and director Lillete Dubey is known for showcasing strong women on stage. That is what led her to the life of Devika Rani, known as the first lady of Indian cinema.

Lillete and team have been travelling across the country with the play ‘Devika Rani’since August and it is set to conclude in Bengaluru on October 2. Written by Kishwar Desai, this was just the story that Lillete was looking forward to directing. “I met Kishwar when she was writing a book on Devika and I thought, this is incredible material for a play,” Lillete tells Showtime.

Devika lived life on her own terms. She wasn’t called the ‘Dragon Lady’ for nothing, says Lillete. Whether she was designing costume or stages, singing, dancing, acting and co-partnering the Bombay Talkies studio, she was a badass throughout.

“No one thought about making films on barren women, casteism, widow marriage and fighting the British. She chose all these themes herself. She’s also the reason the industry saw actors like Madhubala, Ashok Kumar and Dilip Kumar,” Lillete says. Devika’s professional milestones are not the only focus of the play. It takes you through a scandalous personal life across the years. Kishwar had access to a lot of rare letters that Devika had written to her parents, lover, husband and several others.

“This gave us a sort of different insight and helped us see her in a different lens,” Lillete says. Devika Rani is played by Ira Dubey. “I didn’t choose her because she’s my daughter. Ira brought out everything I was looking for in Devika, especially the grace and discipline,” Lillete says.

Ira read through several texts, watched movies and interviews to get into the character. Lillete says that there have been 11 to 12 drafts of the script “and we keep improving it with each performance.”

(Organised by Showhouse, ‘Devika Rani’ will be staged at Good Shepherd Auditorium on October 2. Tickets are available on BookMyShow)