Aishveryaa Nidhi performed Gandhari to rave reviews in Sydney. This time, she is performing in Melbourne at the South Asia Day for one show only.

Aishveryaa Nidhi performed Gandhari to rave reviews in Sydney. This time, she is performing in Melbourne at the South Asia Day for one show only.

Gandhari is back due to popular demand. Why do you think the audience reacted so positively to this story?
Mahabharata is best story ever told and Gandhari is a very powerful character. People can relate to it. It is full of human emotions and drama. It has strong relevance in today’s socio-political context. It is a different interpretation of Gandhari made interesting by Arvind Gaur

How did the play evolve?
I wanted to work on a character that had not been talked about much. Gandhari did not get much attention in Mahabharata. We had to do lot of research for this play. It’s very hard to even imagine how Gandhari must have lived her life blindfolded. As I was reading and researching, I got more and more interested in performing this role.

Another character that interests me is Urmila, Laxman’s wife in Ramayana. Again very little is written about her in Ramayana. She lived a major part of her life without her husband while he was with his elder brother Rama and wife Sita in the jungle for 14 years. Sita was luckier as it was her wish to be with her husband. No one asked Urmila what she wanted, when Laxman was leaving her to look after his parents in Ayodhya.

How was it working with Arvind Gaur?
It’s always an enriching experience working with him. We have done lot of plays together since 1994. Gandhari is closest to my heart as this story has lots of twists and turns. Arvind Gaur is a very hard working and creative director. He understands human psychology well and therefore brings out the best out of the story, characters and the actors.

Do you think non-Hindi speaking communities will miss out?
Theatre doesn’t have a language. Gandhari is visually very powerful and an intense play. It is full of human emotions that people can relate to. We plan to tell the story in English to the audience before hand so that they’ll understand the story. We may even have English sub-titles running as the story goes.

What is the relevance of Gandhari in modern times?
 Mahabharta was written in 3000BC. The problems Gandhari faced then are still present. The world is at the brink of war. A lot of children are being brought up in hatred as Gandhari’s children were raised. A lot of children are being brought up in the society which does not understand their emotions and needs.

Lesson from the play?
Pandvas involved their women in whatever they did whereas Kaurvas didn’t. That’s one big reason of their defeat. Draupadi was a companion in whatever the Pandavas did. She had a big role in their entire decision making. Without her the Pandavas would have most likely been forced to retreat to the forests.
Whereas Kaurvas had a patriarchal structure. Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Dhratarashtra, Vidur, Shakuni, Duryodhana, Karna and Dushasana. No women was involved in the decision making process. Gandhari retreated to the Inner Chambers. Nobody listened to her. And we all know what happened to them.

Stage or films? What do you enjoy more?
Theatre is more of actor’s medium whereas film is director’s medium. I enjoy theatre more as I can express the way I understand the character. Gandhari (play) is our interpretation. I had to visualize what she must have gone through as a lot is not written about it. I also enjoy film acting but what you see in films is what the director wants you to see. Like what you see in Flight to Bollywood is what I and Saf (co-director) interpret.

What is Flight to Bollywood about?

Flight to Bollywood traces the journey of Sydney-born Indian girl, Tania, who wants to become a Bollywood actress. With the help of her Aussie boyfriend Steven, Tania flies to Mumbai and starts looking for work in the industry. Even though Steven accompanies Tania to Mumbai, he's not able to entirely protect her from the ruthless world of Bollywood, full of cut-throat competition and wannabe starlets. In this industry, which is infamous for casting couch, Tania finally finds success, but at a cost.