From victim to victorious

One day, everything is fine and normal. Suddenly, something traumatic happens; the world turns upside down.

Recently, the capital witnessed a play titled Pajama Party at the Sri Ram Centre; a social satire that is based on the theme of women empowerment.  Directed by Atul Satya Koushik, the play has a star cast of Kavita Kaushik (Aisha), Kamya Panjabi(Darsha), Deepali Garg (Urvi) and (Kalyani) Shakti Singh.

The play is about Darsha, Aisha, Kalyani and Urvi are four friends from Mumbai and each of them is standing at a crucial juncture of her life looking forward to something great in times to come. They gather for a Pajama Party at Aisha’s place who lives there with her boyfriend Abhay. The night progresses with music, fun, jokes, and food but what happens post that changes their lives forever. But instead of succumbing to it they decide to stand against it and find a maverick way to deal with this sudden change in their lives.

The plot of the play revolves around the theme of rape and more specifically being raped by the boyfriend. The play aims to convey the message that irrespective of whether a man being in relation to a woman or not, if intercourse is indulged in without consent, the act would be termed as rape, regardless of the relation or not.

One of the very notable elements in the play was when the girls decide to beat up the rapist and make it viral, the girls do not reveal who has been raped but “one of us has been raped.” The play comments on the obsession of people who want to know the victim’s name to which a reply was that if one had seen the video, then ask the accused.

Previously, Atul directed many plays on the theme of mythology and other themes. He reveals that he always wanted to write and direct an urban play on the themes of violence against women. In a candid chat, he says, “I wouldn’t say there was any challenge in making the play because I believe in experimenting with different genres.”  

“The idea is that even in life, people are different from each other. The world is so beautiful because we have people with different faces and insecurities. So, every actor comes with his or her own process, but ultimately, the final thing culminates into a scene, which is written, in a certain manner”, he says. He later adds, “They come up with the process, I understand what is the process and I try to direct through their process.”

Kavita and Kamya who despite being prominent in the TV industry, apparently, have made their theatre debut in the play. On the challenge of directing first time actors, he elucidates, “It is an extended part of the job because we have to tell them about the ethics of theater and the roots of theater as well.” He further adds, “People who are working at a professional level, they are welcome to the new ways of working and welcome the ideas, they understand them and work on them really quickly.”

Kavita Kaushik had an illustrious career in the film and television industry. On making her debut on stage, she elaborates on the experience saying, “It’s very different because the kind of actor I am, my mind works with the energy of the stage. I’m enjoying myself because I surprise myself as I don’t know what I am going to say next.” She pinpoints that the character she portrayed in the play has traits similar to her personality.

Transitioning from one character to another for an actor may seem difficult. She comments, “No! It’s not difficult. For an actor, I think, that’s your job and that’s what you have to excel in and if you don’t excel in that, then you should be in another profession.”