Master of craft

Shoma A. Chatterji

Aparna Sen is one director who has made her talent felt without trying to compete in the numbers game. As director, she has graced the screen with her rare insight into unusual human relationships. Beginning with 36, Chowringhee Lane till Aarshinagar last year, she is counted among India’s major filmmakers. She talks about her latest film, Sonata, in English, based on the original Marathi play by playwright Mahesh Elkumchwar of the same name in 2000. 

What is Sonata about?

Sonata is a one-act play about three single elderly women, who live under the same roof in a flat in Mumbai. It explores the friendship between and among three women despite their differences and their journey of bonding amid the lonely and urban life they live in. Among them, one is a banker, one is a professor and one is employed in a big post in a multinational company. Subhadra, Aruna and Dolon, represent women, who, irrespective of their origin, live a western life. They share a bond and a comfort zone despite their differences.

Does the film have a message?

I never use my films to propagate any message. I believe that every film is its own message. Sonata offers an entertaining, yet discerning insight into the lives of three successful women in a modern, cosmopolitan society. Friends since their college days, they are now middle-aged. The three are well-settled in their respective careers. Through their lively, interactions, the play examines their position in society. It articulates their relationships, aims, ideals, psychology and sexuality.

As an exception to your well-known principle of staying away from acting in the films you direct, you have played one of the three women. Who are the others?

I do act rarely as I did in Paromitar Ek Din. I chose to act because the three women characters coincide with the age-group I belong to and so do Shabana Azmi and Lilette Dubey who play the other two women. Shabana and I have worked together before and she is one of my closest friends. But Lilette is a power-packed performer, who made me wish I had worked with her before. My childhood friend Sohag Sen, famous for her work in theatre, is also in this film. Aruna, Dolon and Shubhadra are subtly depicted as victims of their own minds and of the independent lives that they have chosen to lead. 

Why did you cast Shabana Azmi as Dolon, the Bengali and cast yourself as Aruna, a woman from Uttar Pradesh?

That is the novelty. We stepped outside our zones. It would be given that I play a Bengali and she from UP, but our role reversal has just added to the film. Besides, since the women have lived and worked in Mumbai, the ‘cosmopolitan’ flavour has already changed their perspectives on language, food habits and culture. Shabana has also trained in Rabindra Sangeet to sing her songs herself. When I told her she should take a shot at singing as well, she took it upon as a challenge. She coached herself and hit the high notes without the support of a background score.

What pulled you to the play?

The timeless quality of the story and the characters drew me to it. Its English translation, which was directed and produced by Amal Allana, premiered in 2001. It was later adapted by Leesa Gazi, who performed it as a bilingual play in Bangla and English. It was also performed at TARA Studio and the Edinburgh Festival in 2008. In January 2010, it was staged at the British Council auditorium in Dhaka, co-produced by Tara Arts, the British Council and International Theatre Institute,   Bangladesh. This shows that the play has a universal appeal.