Nandita Das with Sushant Singh in Heads ya Tails

She?s anything but the stereotypical screen star. She lives in Delhi, not Mumbai; she spends more time on a cause than in front of the camera; she directs TV spots for literacy and rainwater harvesting, but refuses to push products?

And now, NANDITA DAS is back on stage with Heads ya Tails. There?s no missing those giant billboards of her and Sushant Singh (of Jungle fame) towering over Mumbai streets, but the artiste-activist had her feet firmly on the ground during a telephonic chat with Sumit Das Gupta about life on the stage.

Let?s start at the very beginning. Do you remember the first time you were on stage?

As a kid, but not necessarily in school? I remember how during holidays spent in (then) Bombay and Baripada, we cousins would stage plays after rehearsing and teaching each other whatever each of us knew. Back in Delhi, I remember one occasion in which baba (father Jatin Das) had brought these fairy things for me to wear at a performance attended by my godparents, Dom uncle and Leela aunty (writer Dom Moraes and wife Leela Naidu).

Then, it was on to street theatre?

That?s right. Being part of Safdar Hashmi?s Jan Natya Manch in college was such a huge thing in my formative years. Safdar would always stress the importance of both form and content. So, contrary to popular belief, the street theatre that we used to do, whether in slums or outside colleges, was properly rehearsed and very well structured. It wasn?t that jekhane ichhe hothat kono ekta natok korte shuru kore dilam (suddenly pick a spot and stage any play). We used to pick issues that we felt mattered, rehearsed for hours and then staged the plays? Innovation, of course, was essential, as on the streets anything can happen ? from the way the crowd is responding, to the dog that strays on to the ?stage?, one must always have the confidence to innovate.

But at the end of the day you felt good about what you were doing?

Oh yes! I used to be busy rehearsing from 6 to 9 every evening, come home and just crash. But it was good exhaustion. It was far more fulfilling than a lot of things I have done since then? I really felt I was doing something about things I felt strongly about and was, in my own small way, making a difference. For example, the effect that some of the plays had on the people living in, say, a slum was quite amazing.

But you never thought of pursuing theatre full time?

No, from the beginning I was realistic enough to know that this was not a career option. A master?s in social work is what I pursued academically and Safdar?s death really shook me. It was something so difficult to come to terms with? My involvement with theatre continued with M.K. Raina?s Mother and Habib Tanveer?s Moteram ka Satyagraha. But then I had jaundice, dropped out of the last play and later drifted into films.

After years on screen, how did The Diary of Anne Frank bring you back to the stage?

By then (2002) I was really wanting to do a play. One, I wasn?t happy with the way a lot of my films had shaped up and also because as a communicator I was becoming aware of the need to simultaneously reach out to every audience possible.

When Roysten Abel spoke about Anne Frank I decided to do it because it was an improvised play that we would all help to evolve. Also, the play made a statement about communalism, about what was happening in Gujarat, and so it was all the more reason for me to be involved.

And the whole dynamic process of us five (Zohra Sehgal, Shabana Azmi, Anastasia, Mandakini and Nandita) evolving and creating the play was wonderful.

It was all about betrayal and trust, about prejudices and private fears explored through five women in a train compartment. And through all this it was a tale of woman bonding.

Where did the play travel to?

We played in Calcutta, Bombay, Ahmedabad and Delhi. Ahmedabad, of course, was a very special show. Narendra Modi had just won and there was a definite risk involved. There was a debate as to whether we should go at all, but then we decided that the play was so relevant to what was happening in Gujarat that we must perform there.

I must admit that I was scared, but being able to go out there and do something I believed in also gave me enormous strength. In Ahmedabad, playing a Muslim girl who conceals her religious identity by using a Hindu name seemed so relevant? and when during a cathartic sequence I moved into the audience and had eye contact with them, it was one moment when I cried effortlessly. The audience was all teary-eyed and after the performance, I remember I just cried and cried?

You did put a lot of yourself into the character. Is there any particular moment that you?ve carried along with you?

There were many, but one that probably stands out is when I say, ?I fear everyone, my neighbours, my friends, my family and even myself? Just to be myself why do I need to be someone else?? Isn?t that true for so many of us?

Heads ya Tails is so dramatically different?

But make no mistake, Heads ya Tails also has a serious message presented in a very different way. It is about a very relevant issue of our life and times ? of consumerism and constantly pushing the line. It throws up questions of luxuries and necessities, priorities and compromise, what happens next and why.

What made you pick this play?

I really liked the script and the people behind the play (Chandrakant Kulkarni, Amar Butala and Prashant Dalvi) seemed to have a certain sincerity about what they were doing? The two-hour play begins with an indecent proposal but then takes a realistic look at a whole series of emotions this couple (Madhavi and Sameer) goes through. The six performances have gone off very well and we hope to travel with the play to other metros, smaller cities and even abroad.

How different are the two forms of acting and are you choosing stage over screen?

I don?t ever want to limit myself to doing either this or that. Just like in films, all I look for in theatre is a good script, a good director and a good role. But stage is a completely different experience. The learning process is amazing? Every auditorium is different, every audience is different, your own mental make-up is different, the chemistry is different, so every show is different? It is far more exciting for an actor and with every show one grows as a performer and as a person.

Screen star, stage actor, social activist ? what do you see yourself as?

I essentially see myself as a catalyst in communication, especially among youth and women. It may be through an Indo-Pak cricket series involving underprivileged children or a film like Bawandar or Fire or a play like Anne Frank? It?s all about reaching out to people and making a difference.