Dance Like A Man

Dance Like a Man is a play written by Mahesh Dattani and directed by Lilette Dubey, was performed at the Jnana Jyothi Auditorium on Nov. 25th. as a part of the Times of India Bangalore Festival. The play deals in a very real manner the prejudices in Indian Society about certain issues and very thoughtfully deals with the characters. It is an ensemble cast of Lillette Dubey, Vijay Crishna, Joydeep Mukherjee and Suchitra Pillai who essay the roles of Ratna, Jairaj, Vishwas and Latha respectively. The story is about a couple of ageing Bharatnatyam dancers, who try to re-live their lives and aspirations through their daughter, yet feel the pangs of jealousy when she is lauded and upheld as a national phenomenon on her debut. The old couple is bitter about their life, the old man's angst at not having been able to pursue his passion for dance, his ego being smashed by his wife's success, his self esteem crushed by his father and his inability to leave his father's house due to monetary constraints, his wife's deal with his father that she would ensure he wouldn't dance in lieu of her dance tuitions being paid for by him, their sacrificing their baby to dance, the wife's despair at having a loser for a husband, at their dilemma of getting a son-in-law who will allow his wife to continue dancing as a profession - all these problems are brought out as a multi - layered drama, each actor's performance a mastery of his/her craft. The language and dialogues are not theatrical, but everyday speak, easy to follow and accept. This play is so real, it could be happening in your living room and not on stage. A fabulous treat and the best part was that though the theme is serious, the dialogues are interspersed with caustic humour and the treatment is contemporarily minimalistic. If ever you get a chance to watch this play, don't miss it...