Ila Arun is in a happy space

Actress and singer Ila Arun is in a happy space. It has been a creatively satisfying year for her. It started with her travelling with a Frederico Garcia Lorca play adapted into The House of Bilquis Bibi, presented by the Tamasha theatre company. She then went on to direct a play commissioned by the Norwegian Embassy — an adapted version of Henrik Ibsen’s play, The Lady from the Sea. In October, she will be travelling to Canada to celebrate India there with a troupe of about 36 artistes.

“It has been an international year for me and I’m humbled that I got so many great opportunities. We’ll be touring like gypsies for our folk programme. I’m also planning to bring my musical play starring my daughter Ishita to Mumbai in September,” says Ila. The actor will also be seen in the international project, West is West, a sequel to East is East. She recalls, “I had to speak in the Urdu spoken in Pakistan and I was nervous. Om Puri ji tried to bail me out asking the team to let me speak in the Urdu I was comfortable speaking. But I decided to learn the correct accent and do it right,” she smiles.

Ila Arun explains that the story is relevant to modern India, adding that the film is a social comedy that is funny and intriguing at the same time. “It shows the fact that men, especially from labour class, who go abroad in pursuit of financial growth, end up with another woman, creating another family. And the wife back home can’t even blame her because she understands that the husband may have only wanted to quench his emotional needs. It’s as much about women as about men who are projected as heroes.”

She understands the identity crisis Indian kids go through. “My own niece and nephew are one of them. One often treats them as tourists even though they want to reach out and belong,” she muses.