The stage comes alive with live renditions of Thumri and sepia-tinted photographs of Allahabad, Benares, Lucknow and Kolkata, offering a historical, political and cultural recap. A perfectly poised Rajeshwari Sachdev plays the role of the flamboyant Gauhar Jaan. Directed by Lillete Dubey and written by Mahesh Dattani, Gauhar is based on a book titled, My Name is Gauhar Jaan by Vikram Sampath.

“Theatre is one of the last few pure options left as far as creative work goes, because little money is involved. I like to produce my own plays; it gives me the freedom to tell the stories I want. When I chose to do a play on the life of Gauhar Jaan, both, people from the fraternity and sponsors, said that young audiences won’t be interested in the life of an old Thumri singer,” shares Dubey.