In memory of Dr Shesh

Actors Paras Gandhi and Simran Tandon with Salim Arif. Pics/Sneha Kharabe

"Every classic gives you the opportunity to reinterpret it, add a few things and leave a few out, in a way that the core of the play remains," says noted theatre director Salim Arif, as he takes a break from rehearsals for his upcoming production. The classic in question is Dr Shankar Shesh's Are! Mayavi Sarovar, which the renowned playwright wrote in 1974. The satire, which unfolds through the story of a king who transforms into a beautiful woman as he takes a dip in a pond with magical powers, grapples with gender inequality - something that seems to have become more complex in 45 years.

Dr Shankar Shesh; (right) Salim Arif

As Arif explains, "Because of Section 377, the whole issue of gender has come back [in discussion] in a different way." And yet, mindsets haven't changed. "We still expect men to be leaders, to take charge and fight wars. When it comes to passing the Women's Reservation Bill, Parliament still isn't unanimous. So, in the context of the play, I found these elements interesting for discussion," he adds.

The play, produced as a musical, will open Dr Shankar Shesh Natyotsav, a pan-Indian theatre festival organised by Shankar Shesh Foundation Trust, which the playwright's son Sanjay Shesh founded in 2015. The trust organises monthly play readings at the Shesh residence in Chembur, and works towards finding new talent in Hindi theatre. Several cities of central India including Bhopal, Indore, Hoshangabad and Jabalpur will also play host to other famous plays the Bilaspur-born writer penned in his short life.

"Dr Shesh has been one of the most performed playwrights in the Hindi heartland. A prolific writer, he was part of the crucial experimental Hindi theatre movement in Mumbai in the '70s. Sadly, he never got the recognition that should have come his way," Arif laments.

ON October 1 and 2, 7.30 pm (St Andrew's Auditorium, Bandra West); October 5, 7.30 pm (Royal Opera House)
LOG ON TO bookmyshow.com