Lilette Dubey to act in her first hindi play

With three decades on the stage behind her, theatre artiste and actor Lilette Dubey will be acting in a Hindi play for the first time in her career.

Titled Adhe Adhure, the play will be staged in Bangalore next week and features Lilette, Mohan Agashe and Ira Dubey as the lead characters of the story.

“Though I’ve acted in several plays before, this one is special. It’s the first Hindi play that I am producing, directing and acting in. Sometimes, I wonder why I took nearly 20 years to do that! But I was always keen on debuting with a classic theatre piece like Adhe Adhure, which is sentimentally very close to me,” says Lilette.

The award-winning theatre piece is a story about life in a contemporary society and revolves around a middle-class family on the brink of collapse. The story focuses around the protagonist Savitri, played by Lilette.

“I was swept away by the script and was amazed to find out that the story was ahead of its times. And to bring it all alive on stage is a challenge that I am enjoying at the moment,” she offers, about her production.

What’s even more surprising is that Adhe... is opening in Bangalore first, over Mumbai, or any other city, known for theatrical performances.

Says Lilette, “We were planning to open the play in Mumbai. Productions usually test waters on their home territory, before taking it to other destinations. However, due to certain circumstances, we decided to bring the play first to Bangalore. But I am confident that Adhe... will see a mass opening as audiences here are very intelligent and appreciate quality work.”

Lilette, who has lived and breathed theatre all her life, says that people often ask her why the art form is slowly fading away. “I ask them to take a look around before putting forth this question to me,” she says.

“It is unfair for people to compare theatre with films and television. I want youngsters to be a part of this niche art form, patronise it and take it forward. I am looking forward to seeing more vivid writers and interesting topics being staged in theatre,” Lilette signs off.