Mom's 'chamchi'- Ira Dubey

Theatre has an osmosis effect in my life. I started my journey as young as six-years-old,” begins Ira Dubey. The actor who will be part of her mother, Lilette Dubey’s production, Adhe Adhure is very excited to open the show in Bangalore.

The award-winning theatre piece is a story about life in a contemporary society and revolves around a middle-class family on the brink of collapse. The story focuses around the protagonist Savitri, played by Lilette. “This is the second time mom and I will be playing mother and daughter in a play. I essay the role of a promiscuous teenage daughter who is the victim of the whole family space. There is an emotional line in the story and it boasts of history too,” says Ira.

What is more exciting is that, the play is opening in Bangalore first, over Mumbai. She says, “It is a well-written script which has a universal appeal. Performing in Bangalore has always been a delight. The audiences too, are extremely intelligent.”

With Lilette having nearly three decades of stage experience, we wonder what it’s like to work with her. “We help each other a lot when we are working together. I started at a young age with my masi’s children theatre company, Kids World. Even as a kid, I always used to look up to these two women.

There were times when people used to call me my mother’s chamchi,” she reminisces. Adding, “However, my mom gets too critical at times. My sister and I always used to tease for being so. Nevertheless, it helps me in pushing my boundaries to deliver a better performance.”

Talking about the current scenario of theatre, she says, “Theatre is the first cousin of Bollywood. Though there are a lot of young people being involved in theatre, we don’t have many theatres schools in India. Theatre has never been about money, so the mindset of people have to change. We need more infrastructure supporting theatre.”

Probing her on the film front, she says, “Life has changed after the release of Aisha. There has been a heart-warming response from people and I am still loaded with messages on my Facebook page. So much so, that once when my mom and I were sitting at a coffee shop, a man walked up to me and asked for my autograph over my mother’s. It was a special moment for me.” With plans of signing a new project, we hope to see the petit actor more often on the screen.