A scene from a previous adaptation of Beewion ka Madarssa

It was after a staging of an Urdu adaptation of Moliere’s 14th century classic School for Wives at Prithvi Theatre that veteran actor Supriya Pathak found her first big break in Bollywood. She was recommended by the founder of Prithvi Theatre, Jennifer Kendal to Shyam Benegal for Kalyug (1981). The character she played was Husnara, the protagonist of Beewion ka Madarssa, who is brought up by a marriage-phobic old man. Having schooled her to be his perfect wife, he finds his masterpiece slipping away from his hands when Husnara falls in love with another. Slapstick, farce and a comedy of errors ensues, as you both laugh at and with the foibles of the old man.