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From
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 25, Dated 23 June 2012 |
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| CULTURE & SOCIETY |
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PSYCHOLOGIES |
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‘Devdasis are the mouthpiece of the modern Indian woman’
WHO Pune-based Siddiqui runs the experimental theatre company Orchestrated Q’Works (OQ). She has written three full-length and several one-act plays. Her story, Making Out, has been published in Urban Shots: The Love Collection.
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Hina Siddiqui, 25, Writer and Director
Photo: Milind Wadekar |
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Tell us about experimental theatre and OQ.
I started exploring experimental theatre in college, not realising it was a proper form. There was no money for conventional theatre. I started Orchestrated Q’Works with like-minded people, out of a certain vanity. We believed we could put forth messages better than anyone. Theatre shouldn’t be elitist. It’s a tool for empowerment. I want OQ to change the world.
What influenced your play, White Noise, on commercial sex workers?
I’ve read about and seen theatrical performances by Devdasis. Unlike what we think, they don’t victimise themselves. They have more control over life than most women today. Once you’ve sold your body, there is nothing left to hide. Most women have to mind their Ps and Qs. Devdasis speak their mind. Thus they are the mouthpiece of the modern Indian woman. That’s why I wrote a script about sex workers. In the performance, OQ uses contact improvisation. An actor recites the verses and dances sensuously, while behind a white screen, we enact a character being raped.
How has Saadat Hassan Manto influenced you?
Toba Tek Singh was my first Indian-themed play. It made me aware of how Partition has been the cause of terrorism. Manto had a romanticised idea of women as silent observers. Yet, he told their stories. In one, a Jewish girl, Mozelle, sacrifices her dignity to help a Muslim boy. He didn’t put women up on a pedestal; they were real characters. He spoke about sex without making it a big deal.
Does your ideology show in your scripts?
I don’t like admitting it, but I am a feminist. The word has a scary stereotype attached to it — of women who hate men. But I do have a problem with item numbers and female actors used as stage props. I have women dress up to play male roles and vice versa. I also adapt the male roles in a script to be played by women.
Esha Vaish
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