What connects you to India and its practice of theatre?
In India, there is theatre on the streets. There is musicality in the gestures, in the way people walk and talk.
Does Indian theatre have a global acceptance?
Indian traditional theatre is above many other theatre forms. Their stories are recognised as sources, influences. It’s the bible of theatre.
Could you tell us about the structure of your workshops in Pondicherry?
I will direct; there will be actor participants from different places.
Your theatre is often termed as utopian. How?
The utopian is an ideal which hasn’t been realised yet. It is not an ‘impossibility’.
The only authored script you have worked on is Mephisto?
Yes, the rest of the scripts are done collectively. Here, the author was better than I.
Tell us about your first encounter with Kathakali.
The first time I saw Kathakali was in France. I knew I had to see what it was all about.
While treading on this path, did you face any challenges as a woman?
When I made my first film, Moliere, I realised misogyny was around me. It took me time to understand that I was a victim.
You have worked with both films and theatre. How different are the two?
When we do a film with one of our plays, the aim is to have it as good as the play, yet different. The emotion it conveys has to be different.
For you, a theatre group, including the audience, is one family. Could you explain?
A group is like a crew. The audience is like active passengers who finish the work.
What should a theatre production strive to depict?
Theatre must reveal life. It has to do with passion, humanity and the dark sides of humans. It should depict illuminations and real heroes.
