Theatrical adaptation of Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth will be staged today at Shriram Center. Director Priyanka Pathak tells Divya Kaushik that without making major changes in the script, she managed to present identity issues faced by women in modern times
In 1982, when Mahesh Bhatt’s most popular semi-autobiographical film Arth released, it received mixed reviews on its ending. Pooja (played by Shabana Azmi), the wife who leaves her husband Inder (played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda) to live with his mistress Kavita (played by Smita Patil), refuses to marry her friend Raj (played by Raj Kiran) saying she has found new meaning to life in being independent. For that era, that was a progressive ending and the director received critical acclaim for taking the bold decision of not ending the film on a predictable note. Even today the film is quoted as an example when we talk of strong portrayal of women in Hindi films. Keeping this in mind, it is appropriate that the theatrical adaptation of the film by the same name, directed by Priyanka Pathak, will be staged today on the occasion of Women’s Day at Shriram Center. It features actors like Imran Zahid as Inder, Padmashree CR as Pooja and Moon Moon Sen as Kavita. The concluding part, also the most-talked about thing, will be a surprise, revealed the director during the rehearsal of the play. “When I saw the film for the first time I was surprised how well the relationships, their complexities and the dilemma woman faces when there’s trouble in her marriage, are described. The issues and situations that the film reflect are not time-bound. The only change is that we hear more often of extra marital affairs, but has the perception really changedIJ I don’t think so, we still say the marriage didn’t work because of ‘other woman’, we not often hear that ‘the husband cheated.’ So I had to keep all these things in mind while I was directing the play. The concluding part was the most challenging as I wanted it to reflect the present time and change that we see today. But you will come to know what exactly it is only when you will watch the play,” said Pathak, a graduate from National School of Drama, who so far has watched Arth multiple times and “now can narrate the film frame by frame.” She was chosen by Bhatt, as he wanted a woman to direct a theatrical adaptation of the film. “He thought that a woman would better understand the identity issues that protagonists face and would present them well,” she added.
The script of the film has been adapted and most of the dialogues are same. “But there are changes that you will notice as theatre is a live medium. For example, in the film Kavita and Pooja only meet once during a party sequence, but on stage you will notice the conflict from the first scene itself and you can sense the effect of their presence on each other’s lives. So one has to make little changes and I must say that the actors have really worked hard to bring out the difference between the film and the play on stage and maintaining the emotional graph throughout was difficult,” said Pathak.
The play will open in Delhi and will then be staged in Mumbai and other cities.