Feminist and fearless

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi’s first reaction when Randhir Ranjan Roy approached her to star in Ek Haan, a new drama based on the life and times of author Saadat Hasan Manto, was, “Why do you even think I can do this? I will never be able to pick up the Urdu lines!” However, the director persisted and right enough, the actress loved the script written by Neha Kargeti. “The play is about a Kashmiri journalist who visits Manto and through his stories, comes to terms with her own reality and identity. We have used some of his original works, and they are deeply moving,” Suchitra says, adding that the character graph drove her to it as well. “Initially, you can’t figure out much about Wazira but as the story progresses, you discover what her agenda is,” says the actress, who will also be seen as a nagging housewife and a prostitute in the outing that will play at the Royal Opera House, Girgaum, tomorrow at 7.30 pm and on August 17, 7.30 pm, at St Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra West. 

For Suchitra’s co-actor, Shekhar Suman, the difficult format as well as the controversial and iconic part was the poison he was looking for. “After playing Sahir Ludhianvi in Ek Mulaqat, this was the natural corollary. I was looking for something extremely edgy and different, not the commercial stuff going on in the name of theatre these days. Also, straight lines are never welcome for me. They have to be crooked, only then it becomes a challenge.”

Challenging play

Speaking of challenges, for the My Wife’s Murder actress, pulling off the lines in Urdu convincingly was the biggest task. “Even my Hindi isn’t that great, so, learning Urdu and getting the nuqta right was like studying Maths, which I was really bad at,” Suchitra laughs. However, she did nail the nuances. But not without the team and Shekhar’s help. “His command over Hindi and Urdu is so strong,” she states, adding, “He really helped me.” On his part, Shekhar tells us, “I must give her the credit for not knowing the language and then becoming so good at it. She asked to be corrected, unlike actors who are resistant and think they know it all. Suchitra was open to suggestions and got it right to near perfection!”

(Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and Shekhar Suman in Ek Haan)

Fascinating qualities about Manto

Even though Ek Haan is an original play, the story is fact and fiction. “It’s kind of a love story — an emotional and mature one and not typical at all,” says Shekhar. 

Though the actor hasn’t read all of Manto’s works, he is familiar with a chunk of it, including Toba Tek Singh and Kali Salwar. “He was always there in the recesses of my mind. I just had to look back and pick up the threads,” he states. “Manto wrote about the hypocrisy that prevails in our society. He would always be vivid in his descriptions,” he continues. But it was the frightening details penned by him that Manto needs to be revered for, Shekhar observes. “It was the stance he took and the temerity to write what was right that makes the character so interesting. It was his fearlessness that was the most fascinating part. He didn’t toe the line or follow a regime,” he elaborates.

Suchitra hails Manto for being a feminist. “He treated women better than they treated themselves! He didn’t judge or label them but empathised with them at a time when women were not even treated as people. He was also nihilistic because of the dark times he lived in. He said it as he saw it and experienced it. There was neither glorification nor judgment,” Suchitra points out.