After 26 years, Lillete Dubey will resurrect her play Jaya, a retelling of the Mahabharata in the format of a rock opera
Actors play Karna (left) and Krishna
The year was 1996 and this writer, having just entered her teens, accompanied her parents to a beautiful, open-air venue at Bandra Reclamation. The play that was staged there was Jaya, a modern retelling of the Mahabharata. The booming singing voices of the actors filled the air; foldable chariots made from cane arrived in the war scenes, and the actors spoke in conversational English as opposed to Shakespeare’s English. In 2024, some of these memories are still vivid, including the lyrics of certain songs; such was the impact of the play directed by Lillete Dubey. The play ran successfully for over 40 shows, post which, it was abruptly stopped due to unavoidable circumstances.
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Twenty-six years later, Dubey is set to stage the 2.0 version of the play titled, Jaya! The Victory, with a new with a new cast, look, sound and sets. “When I started my company, I wanted to do original work. A friend, Lynne Fernandez, who is also designing the lights for this play, had a friend who already wrote this script; an opera/musical montage of the Mahabharata. He had been looking for a producer,” Dubey tells us, “It was complex, challenging and expensive, so he hadn’t managed to find anyone to produce it. That’s how I was introduced to the script in 1996,” she recalls.
Arjuna with Draupadi in a still from the play
The two-hour fifteen-minute play, which has been written by Sandeep Kanjilal, is a rock opera in English that presents the major events of the Mahabharata in song, music, dance and martial arts. It presents these key events in a dramatic montage style through the eyes of Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava brother. It juxtaposes his views with two other divergent viewpoints — those of Duryodhana and his faith in victory at any cost, and that of Karna’s belief in an unchangeable destiny.
“When I revisited the subject of the play, I thought how sad it is that the epic is still relevant. Its characters still walk our streets. If you see what’s happening in Ukraine or Palestine — the constant scramble for power, land and the greed of man — its all-human nature which, unfortunately, hasn’t changed. So, whether it was the Kauravas and the Pandavas, fighting for the kingdom, or countries today, it is the same. The aftermath of war for those who survive, is also the same,” says Dubey. “Jaya! The Victory, is an ironic title. Victory — at what cost? What did you gain? You see this when you observe the Kurukshetra battlefield; this wasteland left behind — a land where people are devastated and they have lost all their beliefs and their faith,” she adds.
Duryodhana and Shakuni
The war sequences are performed in kalaripayattu, some chhau and kathak. It has original music composed by Ashutosh Phatak, sets designed by Fali Unwalla, and lights designed by Fernandez. One of the toughest things, according to Dubey, was casting the 22-member team who were then trained by vocal coach Suzanne D’mello. The play stars Tirthankar Poddar, Vikrant Chaturvedi, Megan Murray, Asif Ali Beg, Sherrin Varghese, Varun Narayan, Keshia B, Sid Makkar, Yuvraj Bajwa, Ujjayinee Roy, Shagun Trisal, Vernon D’souza and Mehmood Curmally in key roles. “I was looking for singers who can act. In the West, it’s common for actors to be trained in music and dance. That’s not the norm here. It is two hours of original music, like an opera. So, whether you speak-sing, rap-sing, talk-sing, sing rock blues, or rock ballads, it is music. Creating that music and finding actors who can execute it was a challenge but we have great music and exceptional talent,” shares Dubey.
The other challenge was the gigantic production cost. Dubey delayed her plans to resurrect the play on a couple of occasions, and spent 75 per cent of her money to stage the production. “Mounting a musical is expensive, especially when it entails creating a fresh track with everybody singing live, a thousand technical requirements such as monitors, mics, lights, and large sets. Hence, the high ticket prices. We are willing to pay when we watch a musical abroad and even when Broadway musicals are brought to India. This is original work from India, and I’m hoping the audience shows up in large numbers to watch the play.”
Lillete Dubey
On February 10 to February 11, 3 pm and 7.30 pm; February 15 to February 16, 7.30 pm; February 17 to February 18, 3 pm and 7.30 pm
At Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Bandra West. log on to bookmyshow.com
Cost Rs 1000 onwards
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