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From the archives

Thursday, 27 February 2020 | Sakshi Sharma

From the archives

While actor Zeenat Aman was inspired to play Kasturba Gandhi in Dear Bapu, Love Kasturba, the director Saif Hyder Hasan wanted to explore what it was like to be married to India’s biggest icon. By Sakshi Sharma

In one scene, Gandhi and Kasturba are on opposite sides of the stage, both on an elevated platform. In another, Bapu sits by Kasturba’s slowly disintegrating funeral pyre and when asked to leave, he says, “Saath (60) saal ke liye saath rahe the, saath (60) minute toh baithne do.” These scenes from Dear Bapu, Love Kasturba will certainly transport you to various phases of history, exploring their relationship.

The play opens with the drama of the Quit India Movement. Gandhi is arrested and sent to the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. Kasturba leads in his absence. She, too, is arrested and sent to the Arthur Road Jail in Bombay. Due to poor health, she is sent to be with Gandhi. A few years later, she passed away. Now, her soul writes letters to Gandhi. These letters evaluate their relationship of 60 years. From marriage to death, the letters leave nothing — politics, marriage, family, children, companionship.

How was it to recreate and understand Kasturba Gandhi as nothing much has been written about her in the past?

Saif Hyder Hasan: We have usually seen various biopics centred around Mahatma Gandhi. Kasturba is just seen standing behind him as a supporting character. She is never seen leading the narrative. I wanted to keep the play very different. So this explores their relationship and personal equation from Kasturba’s perspective. That’s where the difference lies.

What made you go for this role, especially after such a long gap?

Zeenat Aman: It was my director’s thought and amazing screenplay that pushed me to go for this role. The fact that I had to play the protagonist just added to my excitement. Let me underline this that though there are mixed reviews but you can not imagine the love, claps and appreciation I received in all the cities we performed.

How did you conceptualise it? Were there any reference points?

Saif: The whole concept is the result of one line — ‘what was it like to be married to India’s biggest icon?’ I interrogated further and that laid the foundation for this. There are a couple of books and diaries of Kasturba’s grandchildren, which helped me develop the plot of the story. To understand any character you need to read a lot of books. I made sure that I don’t stick to one book, otherwise it would look like an adaptation. Though I had read many books on her, it was only two years ago that I decided to do a play on Kasturba. While making a play or a film, it is very important to dig deeply into the characters and not rely on the internet completely. Books are the best source of information. That’s where the whole secret lies.

A lot of research has also gone behind deciding the attire. I saw some of Kasturba’s pictures. In most or rather all of them she was wearing white. There were a few of them in colourful saris too. They were mostly of her early phases of life.

What was your understanding of Kasturba?

Zeenat: My director had already done a very thorough research about her. He read almost all the books based on her. And I followed up with his research and added my bit to it as I had very less time to do my own groundwork.

While I was going through that process, I found that Kasturba was a powerful woman. She had an amazing journey with Mahatma. Even though she didn’t agree with him on various subjects, she was always there for him. When Kasturba was in jail, she supported the wives of the men, who were jailed with Gandhi. She participated in the Harijan Movement and was even sent to prison for it. It was quite intriguing and inspirational to learn about her. However, it was quite challenging. I had the material in front of me, I just had to project it at a glance.

Did you feel the pressure of putting Kasturba in the right light as it would lead to various fresh perspectives?

Saif: No. I didn’t feel any kind of pressure. I just tried to portray her as she was. You just have to be honest. I would only say, Kuch to log kahenge, logo ko kaam hai kehna.

How do you find modern relationships different than the old school ones?

Zeenat: I feel that you cannot compare any relationship because each of them is very different. They have their own space and energies. Their history, emotional baggage and everything they bring to the table is way different. In fact, you can not compare any relationship. Even if you see the child-parent dynamic, there relationship is very distinct. We deal with different individuals who bring in a certain dynamics. So I feel there can never be any comparisons.

How was it exploring yourself through theatre?

Zeenat: It’s been encouraging, exciting and interesting. And the best part is that during the play, each city reacted differently. People in Mumbai are different from the ones in Delhi and Hyderabad. They cheer, laugh and cry at different timings. Maybe, the performance also gets different as it evolves over time.

(The play is brought by BookMyShow.)

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