The American philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville once warned that individuality could cause people to ‘sever themselves from the mass of his fellow creatures’. Perhaps, this is why it can be both freeing and dangerous. “We find ourselves in a place where speaking up has consequences,” reflects Aditya Rawal. The 32-year-old actor-writer is in the midst of preparing for the next run of his play, The Queen, at the Prithvi Theatre this weekend.

If the surname sounds familiar, it is because he is the son of celebrated actors, Paresh Rawal and Swaroop Sampat, and recently won his first Filmfare for Best Debut in Hansal Mehta’s Faraaz (2022). Rawal began writing the play during his time at New York University. Knowing his legacy, it almost feels inevitable that he grew up in and around theatre; although it was football that kept him going through college in Mumbai. Having worked on the script through his time at New York University, Rawal opened the play at the Theater for the New City, New York in 2016. It travelled with him, till the production read a new version at Prithvi Festival Fringe in 2024, followed by a premiere at the Prithvi Festival earlier this month.