Meet the Drama Queens

Producer Raell Padamsee and debutant actor Anju Taraporevala on theatre, acting and Murder on the Menu


g_sheree@dnaindia.net
One’s a veteran, the other an absolute novice. Together, they promise to enthrall the city’s glitterati with their much-talked about play Murder on the Menu scheduled to open to the general public for the first time in the city on Saturday at NCPA.

“I’ve always wanted to do this sort of interactive theatre, where you don’t have that invisible fourth wall between the audience and the actors. This is also why we’ve decided to open it to the public after traveling to different cities and performing for corporates and the like for the past six months,” says Raell Padamsee, the producer of the show, who hopes to take the play to the suburbs very soon.

The play revolves around the murder of Nero Sharpe, a tycoon who chokes on his dinner when on a date with his ditzy 23-year-old secretary Arlene at Luigi’s restaurant, while his wife Flora and mother-in-law Jewel are plotting a divorce with a hefty alimony a few feet away. Soon there’s ‘murder on the menu’, complete with a journalist, an artist, two chefs and interaction with the audience!

The surprise package of the play is of course debutante Anju Taraporevala. A well- known personality in Mumbai’s social circle, this mother of two has got rave reviews for her performance as Flora and is in fact, very kicked about finally performing for theatre enthusiasts and her friends in the city. “I’ve been very encouraged with the reviews and I’m not at all nervous about performing in Mumbai,” she says.

Raell reveals that it took her and director Karla Singh just three minutes to decide to sign up Anju as Flora. “At the audition, she proved how perfect she was for the role. Add to that, she’s been very conscientious, coming for rehearsals any time of the day, and for long hours,” she adds.

How close is Anju to the scheming wife she plays on stage? “It has been extremely difficult to play this character,” she says, “though she does have bits of people I know. However, I feel one has to draw from oneself to make the character real, and that’s exactly what I’ve being doing and why people have been appreciating my performance.”

So, is this the beginning of an acting career for her? What about Bollywood? “No Bollywood for me, please! If I wanted to be on the big screen, I would have pursued it years ago when I was younger. Acting is a passion for me,” says Anju, informing us that she’s been signed up to play a lead character in Raell’s next play Rumours.