Mita Vashisht ‘I had to figure out how to channel the energy of stage performance and make it come alive before the camera’

‘Agnipankh’ is a play which is set against the oppressive Zamindari system of 1948 where a fiercely strong Durgeshwari played by Mita Vashisht goes to great lengths to preserve her position both in the family and the society. It is a family drama that unfolds on the eve of independence. It has everything a good drama can possibly have; a good story and wonderfully etched-out characters. The roles are beautifully written. There is something of all the ‘rasas’ in the play including ‘shringar’ or the love element, ‘shaurya’ or valour and also anger. The audience is transported to another era and also embarks on an inner journey while they are watching the play. Excerpts:

On playing ‘Durgeshwari’ or Baisa.

My role is central to the story. She is a woman of that era who handles the vast empire of the family that she has been married into. In a way, she’s like the zamindar who traditionally handles the responsibilities of factories, land, labour and crisis but she rules like a woman who also has to balance her personal roles as a wife and a mother. Her husband is a layabout who does nothing but get drunk and though she is the one handling everything, she is also very vulnerable because she wants love and tenderness and she hasn’t been fulfilled as a woman. It is a lead role and what interested me was the fact that she is strong but also vulnerable. The opportunity to play with this duality, this depth and range were what really excited me.

Preparation for the role

My preparation for any role starts with just sitting back and ruminating. I focus a lot on the dialogue and the written word because what the character says and who she says it to is important and I have to find the perfect way to say it. It was a lot of work as Durgeshwari interacts with every single character in the play. Then I had to understand the caste structure or belief system that she inhabits and the many shades she has as a woman. To begin with, I had to get all her dialogues in my system. Shooting for ‘Agnipankh’ was challenging also because we had to perform the way we would for a live audience. The challenge for me was to ensure that anyone watching ‘Agnipankh’ on Zee Theatre would know that it was a stage play. I needed to figure out how to channel the energy of stage performance and make it come alive before the camera.

What research went behind the making of this character?

It is rare to get a role that lets you play from one end of the spectrum to the other and allows you both power and vulnerability, depth and range. So, when one does get it, one immerses oneself fully into the character. To play Durgeshwari, I prepared myself to portray each of her quirks, the way she does a huge balancing act to deal with the lives in her domain, right from her servants to her son who is rebelling against her belief system to the daughter in law who comes from a different belief system to her own daughter who falls in love with the servant’s son. There was so much in this character that I could explore.

On theatre-going digital.

I don’t know if digital plays have changed the way theatre is watched but they will definitely draw more people to live performances. Take ‘Agnipankh’ for instance. So many of my friends who are in their 50’s or even older have never ever seen a play but caught ‘Agnipankh’ on television and then came to watch a live performance. They were so happy because they had never experienced theatre’s live energy before. So definitely, teleplays will change the way theatre is watched for the better and expand the community of theatre goers.

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