At three back-to-back events that I attended recently, a writer, an actor and a singer engaged audiences with their prowess in their distinct fields. I registered the fact that they were female only later. It’s a welcome sprinkle of happiness when women are the top picks based on their achievements instead of being included as a hat-tip to gender diversity.
There are many ways to honour the memory of loved ones and Aditya Sondhi, a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court and former Additional Advocate General for Karnataka has created an annual lecture to honour his father and our city. Actor Arundhati Nag spoke about ‘Bangalore and its Theatre’ while delivering the third Ravi Sondhi Memorial Lecture. Aru has perhaps become better known for founding and running one of India’s famous theatre spaces, Ranga Shankara. The transition from an actor to an institution builder meant letting go of once-in-a-lifetime screen roles as she was determined to steer a straight course without distractions.
She’s acted with the greats of theatre like Karnad, who also guided her in the greatest role of her life. It’s not easy but it’s one she lives with grace and charm, steeped in the theatre and nourishing the institution that bears the name of her husband Shankar Nag. The charming actor who tragically died far too young in a road accident is still much loved by the masses. Shankar’s role as Auto Raja boosted the image of the drivers and Aru feels that auto and cab drivers continue to drive her free of charge because they adore Shankar. It’s evident by now that they do it, and many would do far more, for Aru who has given so much to the city and the arts.
This cabaret singer in Kanjeevaram epitomises ‘woman shakti in a bindi’, as she puts it. Usha Uthup is delightfully audacious and humble at the same time. She believed in herself even when Bollywood scorned her in the early years for having a deep bass voice instead of the high-pitched female voices that were then favoured by music directors. She was undeterred by such limitations and triumphed. Doing ‘Skyfall’ in a sari, she’s indeed a ‘Darling’ wherever she goes, singing in 17 Indian languages, and eight foreign languages, genre-blending, and gender-bending. She’s proof indeed that music cuts across gender, age, language, and geographies. Usha is an original and timeless classic, as all who danced to her tunes on Holi will gladly agree. That evening, she invited her sister Indira (from the original Sami Sisters) and niece Priya to sing along, adding a familial warmth. Usha seemed to gather the entire audience in a warm fuzzy embrace – a testament to the great communicator that she is.
Writer Anuja Chauhan is having another moment in the sun; ‘Murder Mubarak’ currently streaming on Netflix is based on her whodunnit novel ‘Club You to Death’. She’s no stranger to the adaptation process as all her half-dozen books have been adapted for the screen. Readers and viewers have however panned Murder Mubarak. I too felt the film was a huge let-down despite a talented cast, though I found the original book quite entertaining. The only noteworthy features in the film are the drop-dead gorgeous Karisma Kapoor and the brief sparks between Sara Ali Khan and Vijay Varma.
I heard Anuja at a book club event and felt she responded to the criticism in a candid, confident and cool manner. Having spent years in the advertising industry, Anuja no doubt understands the transformations scripts undergo, sometimes straying far from the writer’s original vision. And let’s be honest – how often do you like a movie as much as the book it’s based on? And how rare is it to enjoy a movie more than the book? Even as the film continues to be among the most watched, there’s news of Murder Mubarak 2 based on Anuja’s latest book ‘The Fast and the Dead’. Set in Bengaluru, this sequel promises us the sight of the talented Pankaj Tripathi reprising the role of ACP Bhavani Singh, navigating the city’s gullies and markets in pursuit of justice.
Sandhya Mendonca is an author and host of ‘Spotlight with Sandhya’ podcast.