These intense plays got Hyderabadis thinking

If you are a woman, you are expected to uphold ‘maryaada’, which ironically and conveniently is ignored when it comes to men. What is maryaada? Two plays staged over the weekend by Sutradhar, under the production titled Maryaada, delved deep into these questions as the theatre lovers of Hyderabad, joined them at Lamakaan. The first play, Touch, written by Smita Nirula, upholds the several versions of truth, several meanings of the same words and how they are used to crush a vulnerable woman. Deepti Girotra who played the lead and also directed the play was simply fabulous. With tears rolling down her cheek as she screamed and sobbed on stage with rage, frustration and anguish, it was hard to distinct acting from reality. The supporting cast, Anurag Sharma, Rahamat Ali and Subhra Kanti Rajvanshi, was also laudable.
The second play, Sita & Shoorpanakha written by Shivani Tibrewala and adapted from short stories by Sara Joseph and translated into English by Vasanthi Sankara-narayan was a retelling of the Ramayana from Sita and Shoorpanakha’s point of view. Directed by Vinay Varma the play questioned the actions of Lord Rama and how these two women who simply did the mistake of loving him were tormented by the Maryaada Purushottam. The cast Deepika Mahidhara and Prathyusha Madapathi, who brought forth the pathos of Sita and Shoorpanakha with natural ease was applauded generously at the end of the play.