Birthday Special: Five iconic plays featuring theatre and film stalwart Lillete Dubey

There may maybe be much more to Lillete Dubey than her acclaimed performances in ‘Zubeidaa’, ‘Monsoon Wedding’, ‘Chalte Chalte’, ‘Baghban’ and ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho.’ As an actor and director, Lillete has also created an unlimited body of theatrical work on stage and has sparkled now not just on the massive screen but also on television. The stalwart began her career in 1973 with Barry John because the founding member of Theatre Action Group in Delhi. She founded The Primetime Theatre Company in 1991 and since then has staged a couple of productions including ‘30 Days in September’ and ‘Salaam Noni Appa.’ On her birthday seventh September, we curated several of her most memorable plays.

An outline:

Jaya

In 2024, Lillete Dubey revived ‘Jaya,’ a grand retelling of the ‘Mahabharata’ she had staged in the nineties. The two-hour-long magnum opus blends rock ballad verve with unparalleled visual grandeur. In a up-to-the-minute way, ‘Jaya’ narrates a deeply philosophical tale from the perspective of Yudhishthira. Lillete has often stated that her driving purpose as a theatre exponent is to showcase Indian writing and this play is a profound celebration of India but with a as much as date musical twist and laced with traditional dance forms like Kathak. Directed by Lillete herself, this musical stars Sherrin Verghese, Megan Murray, Vikrant Chaturvedi, Asif Ali Beg, Keshia B, Sid Makker, Varun Narayan, and Ujjaiynee Roy.

Devika Rani

Typically also is often called the First Lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani used to be a pioneering producer and actor who now not only ran Bombay Talkies but also introduced many legends to the industry including Dilip Kumar. In her directorial ‘Devika Rani: Goddess of the Silver Screen’, Lillete Dubey showcases the spirited defiance of social norms and creative vision that made Bombay Talkies a path-breaking production house. Ira Dubey essays the massive name who chase away patriarchy and broke the glass ceiling to become a force to reckon with. The big name cast includes Joy Sengupta, Rishi Khurana, Nandita Dubey, Aakanksha Kadre, Pranav Sachdev and Kashyap Shangari.

Womanly Voices

Staying true to her passion for Indian writing, Lillete directed this anthology of stories representing the voices of several of India’s finest women folk writers. The anthology includes Wajeda Tabassum’s ‘Utran,’ which created huge ripples when it used to be first published in 1977. Mahasweta Devi’s devastating story ‘Shishu’ depicts what poverty, oppression and starvation can do to human beings while Gita Mehta’s ‘The Teacher’s Story’ is about a tragedy that befalls a young, gifted singer and his guru. Filmed by Ishan Trivedi, Zee Theatre’s Teleplay ‘Womanly Voices’ stars Joy Sengupta, Suchitra Pillai, Pranav Sachdev, Ira Dubey, Deepika Amin and Adit Bhilare. Watch it on eighth September at Tata Play Theatre.

Dance like a Man

Playwright Mahesh Dattani’s generational drama ‘Dance Like a Man’ is about ambition, jealousy and family dysfunction and Lillete now not only starred in it but also directed it for the stage. The theme is woven around Jairaj and Ratna, two fading Bharat Natyam artists whose daughter is a promising dancer. Her success alternatively ends in friction and the invention of deeper issues in the family unit. Filmed for television by Ritesh Menon, the Zee Theatre teleplay also stars Vijay Crishna, Suchitra Pillai and Joy Sengupta. Watch it on seventh September at Tata Play Theatre.

Adhe Adhure

Playwright Mohan Rakesh’s ‘Adhe Adhure’ proved to be a watershed moment in as much as date Hindi theatre when it used to be first published in 1969. Recognising its powerful feminist issues, Lillete staged the play and did full justice to it as an actor and director. She essays the role of a middle-aged working woman Savitri who's trapped in a loveless marriage and an web of responsibilities. Her look for fulfilment in a patriarchal society makes for a compelling watch. Filmed by Rohit Philip, the Zee Theatre teleplay also stars Mohan Agashe, Lillete Dubey, Ira Dubey and Rajeev Siddhartha.