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In Savitribai’s shoes
Updated On: 07 January, 2024 06:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Neerja Deodhar
Rajshri and Sushama Deshpande are bringing the Maharashtrian social reformer to newer audiences. Depicting her story and struggles has radically changed them as actors and women
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Sushama Deshpande’s Vhay Mi Savitribai has drawn audiences for over 30 years
As we speak over the phone on January 3, veteran theatre actress and director Sushama Deshpande reminds this writer of the significance of this date: 34 years ago, on this day, she staged the first ever performance of her beloved Marathi play, Vhay Mi Savitribai. It is also the birth anniversary of the subject of the play, Savitribai Phule—the formidable social reformer who was the first female teacher in the Indian subcontinent.
Sushama is in the throes of putting together an English version of the play, so it can reach wider and newer audiences in the third fourth decade ? of its life. As the actress, who has also starred in films like Umbartha (1982) and Ajji (2017) pores over the script and works with her crew, another artist waits for the world to see her depiction of Savitribai. Between premieres and press meets, Rajshri Deshpande speaks ecstatically of Satyashodhak—a small-budget Marathi film she shot seven years ago, whose release was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Long before she earned acclaim through Sacred Games (2018) and Sexy Durga (2017), Rajshri recognised how this opportunity could shape her career. Who could ever say no to the role?
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