India's first prominent woman Punjabi writer and poet, Amrita Pritam, had a rare skill with verse, and that's what intrigued director Sachin Gupta of Chilsag Chillies Theatre Company
It has been years since she has gone, but even today, her words can weave magic. Her love for literature, language, culture and Sufism is effortlessly depicted in her body of work and it's little wonder that legends like Gulzar and the Wadaali Brothers still admire her compositions. But then, India's first prominent woman Punjabi writer and poet, Amrita Pritam, had a rare skill with verse, and that's what intrigued director Sachin Gupta of Chilsag Chillies Theatre Company.
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Gupta devised a play, Ek Shaam Amrita ke Naam, based on the beauty and eloquence of Pritam's short stories Shah ki Kanjri, Yeh Kahani Nahi, Junglee Buti and a few of her soulful poems.
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"Our actors Ruhi Alve, Khusbhoo Atrey, Sandeep Bhaudaria, Anamika Shukla and Shalini Chauhan have shortlisted the stories. Initially, it was difficult to choose from her works, because all of them are exceptional. But then, we tried to narrow down the options by looking for contemporary stories that explore human relationships. These are easy to connect with the audience," says Gupta.
With this play, the troupe is trying to bring more interactive and performance-based storytelling with minimal set and lights. During rehearsals, they worked on scene study and character work, analysing every bit of the text to bring the characters alive on stage. "Since her work personified collective values of love, justice and spirituality, her stories are relevant even now," explains Gupta.
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