Surnai Theatre and Folk Arts Foundation’s acclaimed play Peechha Karti Parchhaiyan is all set to be released by Zee Theatre in the form of a teleplay through Tata Play Theatre from August 25 onwards. In the wake of its premiere, the play’s director, actor and veteran artiste, KK Raina shared its relevance in today’s times in an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama. It is adapted from Henry Ibsen’s highly acclaimed play Ghosts.
EXCLUSIVE: KK Raina on his play Peechha Karti Parchhaiyan, “Social evils that hamper women are still hanging around in India”
“We realized that whatever he (Henry) had written is very relevant to the current socio-political situation of India, especially when it comes to women,” said Raina. “Women haven’t got the status they deserved till now. I feel the women of this country want their voices to be heard. They want to have equality with men in every aspect. That’s why we chose this play.”
Surnai Theatre and Folk Arts Foundation is run by Raina and another veteran artiste Ila Arun. The latter is also the writer of the play, and she plays the protagonist Yashodhara. “The social evils that hamper women are still hanging around,” said Raina. “They aren’t going away. So, it’s very important to change and challenge these norms. Hence, the woman in this play questions and challenges these norms that have been forced upon her. But the problem is that, although she speaks on this, she doesn’t act.”
He added another woman in the play isn’t like Yashodhara. “However, in the end when the character of the maid, who has a soft corner for the prince, realizes that she is also getting caught in the web like Yashodhara, she says that she won’t accept this, and she leaves the house. So, she is shown to be from a generation that not just speaks but acts too. She wants change and freedom for herself. We start NGOs and we light candles. But if things could have been solved through lighting candles, we wouldn’t have needed to fight,” he said.
Raina is happy with the response their play has received till now. “After the play when girls and women come to meet us backstage, they say that we said their mann ki baat in the play. That makes us feel that we are doing something right,” he said.
Raina touched upon his long professional partnership with Ila Arun saying, “We know each other well. She writes very well. I feel that in India when it comes to adaptation, the best person is Ila Arun. When we started off, we decided that she would write, and I would direct. My task was to read English plays and pass on the selected ones to Ila ji to adapt. You would rarely get such an example in India where a writer and director have been working for 40 years. Else within 2-3 years there would be fights and arguments. But with God’s grace, nothing of that sort has happened with us (laughs).”
However, KK Raina admitted that there are differences of opinion between them. “But it gets resolved with discussions,” he said. “We realize that both of us would need to arrive at one point of view. So, the creative difference of opinion that we have is discussed and sorted out while writing the draft. There have been times when I have felt this is wrong, but Ila ji felt it is right and we decide to retain it. Later on, I realize that Ila ji’s point of view was right. Sometimes, the same happens with her when she realizes that I was right. This is a relationship of trust instead of one upmanship. So, the working relationship between Ila ji and myself has been wonderful, very creative, very challenging also at times but very inspiring.”
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