At Miranda House's Anukriti - The Hindi Dramatics Society, I began my journey as an actor but I did not want to limit my artistic expression. I explored various aspects of behind-the-scenes, including light design, production, costumes, and art direction. I especially found myself developing an interest in direction. With my self-written script, "Oops it's Uncomfortable," I gained confidence to venture into screen direction. Although I acknowledge there's still much room for improvement in this area. Nonetheless, it's a field I find fascinating and find myself growing in.
"Oops, It'suncomfortable!" is a play that was influenced by Simone De Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" and Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologue" respectively. Three women from different social and economic classes are the focus of the tale. It explores the vocabulary of silence, exposing the unspoken and to-be-hushed dialogue and bringing it into the public domain. The feeling of empathy and the oppressive practices in a patriarchal system, despite the fact that these women are diverse, are what bind them together. It dives into the emotional confusions one is forced into with defined morality and immorality the marginalized gender has practiced and is ruthless, brutally honest, and unfiltered.
I made my directorial début in the digital theater with Andher Nagri Written By Bhratendu Harishchandra. Electronic media came in handy to achieve the aim of making theatre inclusive of all while transgressing all socio-economic barriers when theater became inaccessible and all but an elite concept. To make this concept a reality, I worked with Tabeer Theatre for All Foundation as a theatre director and facilitator.
I led a theatre workshop for students in levels V through VI at Angels Paradise as part of the TFI fellowhsip programme. This served as the impetus for the development of a street play about proper waste disposal.
Gaurav Saini, a friend and fellow musician, wrote, sang, and produced this lovely song while reflecting on his prior romantic relationships. This became my very first time directing on camera.
The play "On a Muggy Night in Mumbai" by Mahesh Dattani examines issues of LGBTQI+ identity, partnership, self-assurance, and betrayal. It talks about societal stigmas and the stigma of mental illness that comes with living in secrecy in a conservative culture. This play has been most close to my heart as this story ignited in me the willingness to direct.
ASSISTANT DIRECTION
I had the chance to work with writer-director Ashwin Rai Shetty on his true-crime documentary series; Beast of Bangalore, which is one of the three stories in the Indian Predator saga. The show was jointly produced by Vice India and Netflix, and centres on Umesh Reddy. Umesh Reddy was a serial killer and rapist, who allegedly committed more than 18 such offenses between 1996 and 2002 but managed to elude capture.
