EXCLUSIVE! ‘Mirzapur’ actress Shweta Tripathi on ‘Pride Month': 'How can we celebrate others if we refuse to...'

The incredibly talented Shweta Tripathi is all set to come back to theatre, this time as she is producing a play after over a decade under her theatre production company, AllMyTea. The play is a very popular international play by British playwright, Mike Bartlett. The play titled Cock is a queer drama, directed by Manish Gandhi. The play is a revival of the play that was last performed in India over a decade ago.

Shweta will be producing the play under her theatre production company, AllMyTea and will make its grand new premiere in Delhi on 6th June and in Mumbai on 10th June at Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai before travelling to other cities in India. The play is being launched in June as a celebration of International Pride Month with a key highlight on this unique queer themed drama that focuses on sexuality as its core theme.

And in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actress spoke about it and the evolution of queer love stories in Hindi cinema.

Edited excerpts from the interview

You are returning to theatre as a producer after a decade so what’s the feeling like?

They say you’ll get anything that you like. Sometimes things come to you that you want to choose. We do attract a lot. I got into acting because I saw actors on stage. The control over their craft and the magic that unfolded. And whatever they created, I believed in that world. It has always been a magical world for me and it is only because of them that I have been able to understand my own emotions. It made my bubble bigger because actors are preoccupied in their own world. This definitely had an influence on me.

Is this your debut as a theatre producer?

No, this is not my debut. I have been producing shows and plays before. I became an actor because ever since childhood I wanted to be on stage. I want to live with myself through a certain medium or platform. So I really enjoy that.

What do you have to say about the title Cock?

This title belongs to the British playwright who has written the play. This is not an Indian play nor we are adapting it. This is an award winning play. This is a really popular playwright to whom the story and the title belongs.

We are in the Pride Month. What does it mean to you in today’s times?

Just the word pride says it all. We are losing our individuality. How can we celebrate others if we refuse to celebrate ourselves? The conditioning has become so strong that other people are telling us who we are, but we should do and what we should not. We are going with the flow, but where is the fun in life? We have become products on a conveyer belt.

How much have queer love stories evolved in cinema?

We can evolve as much as the society does. For instance Gorej. And now, so many people have come out and spoken about it. We will be able to see the changes of the society on the big screen. The stories around queer are only going to see a rapid increase. One of my favourites is Rani Kohenur. What a brilliant performer. I went to her play and there was so much happiness and love that I was just mind blown. Why do we need to limit ourselves and put ourselves in a bracket?