Sohini in Bappaditya

Sohini Sengupta has been awarded Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Purashkar 2007 for her contribution as a theatre actress. The award was instituted by Sangeet Natak Akademi last year. The daughter of theatre veterans Swatilekha and Rudraprasad Sengupta is on a high.

A t2 chat with Sohini...

When did you first appear on stage?

When I was three years old. I started acting full-fledged with Nandikar from 1996. In college, I played Shylock in the Jadavpur University English department production of The Merchant of Venice under Prof Ananda Lal’s direction. With Nandikar, I have done Bappaditya, Sojon Badiyar Ghat and Gotraheen among others. Outside Nandikar, I have acted in Khunje Nao and Babli.

What are you working on now?

I have now started working with children. I directed the play Bachchader Holo Sotyi Rajputra with children which premiered in the 2007 Nandikar theatre festival.

I am now adapting Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The story has really moved me. I have wanted to do it for a long time. I am busy writing the script now. I haven’t decided the cast yet. I want to use a lot of physical movements and dance.

How is it working with other theatre groups?

I am comfortable in any theatre group as I have grown up watching most of them. I have never felt extra comfortable in Nandikar.

Who is your favourite director in Nandikar, among your parents and Goutam Halder?

Everybody is very good. In Nandikar, I have been mostly directed by Goutamda. Outside Nandikar, I want to work with Suman Mukhopadhyay and Koushik Sen. I also want to work with women directors, like Ushamashi (Ganguli), Sohagdi (Sen), Saolimashi (Mitra) and my mother. I love working with my mother. Goutamda is my theatre guru. He has given me the formal training. He has directed me in Sojon Badiyar Ghat and Bappaditya.

As a director, which play do you dream of bringing to the stage?

I want to do King Lear, or rather a Shakespeare, some day.

Any plans of directing your mother?

I want to direct her in a stage adaptation of The Yellow Wallpaper, one of the first American feminist writings. I also have one of Marsha Norman’s plays in mind. My mother is my soul and inspiration.

What about films?

I got the National Award for supporting artiste for Paromitar Ek Din, so I am interested in films. But a film has to offer me the right role. The kind of experimental films that are being made in Bollywood are not happening here. Once that happens I would be eager.