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Meet the Dubeys

Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

Family ties Both Lillete and Ira Dubey had to be slotted into a particular genre

Like her famous mom, Ira too loves to break staid notions. She has finished her first feature film, “The President is Coming”, a Rohan Sippy production and an adaptation of the popular play by the same name, directed by Kunaal Kapur Roy.

She insists, “I am open to films; having grown up in Delhi, my Hindi and English diction are good. But films are not my priority. I want to change the perception that theatre is a stepping stone to films. We can’t become billionaires doing theatre but I see it becoming a commercially viable medium for young people.”

Lillete Dubey’s younger daughter has joined Lillete’s Primetime Theatre Co as associate director, backed by the “enriching training” at the Yale University.

Having been on stage, acting in her mom’s plays since she was five, a professional course in theatre was a natural progression.

“People wonder why I went to Yale and didn’t do something substantial like engineering or economics. But then, I love theatre. Yale taught me theory and showed me how I can use it practically. When I assisted mom in the play ‘Sami’, I remember sending copious notes to actors. I put to use mental exercises like theatre games during the rehearsals. We did a lot of character study too.”

Lillete considers Ira a thinking actor and her elder daughter Neha an intuitive one. “Both are innately talented. Ravi (her husband) and I only had to polish their skills.” Lillete is fondly called “sweet Hitler” on the sets and is the same towards her daughters. “At times, I push them harder since I know they can do better. I might even relax a bit when other actors slacken but with my daughters, I don’t rest till I get the best,” she confesses. The group has done 25 shows of “Wedding Album” and has its plans chalked out for the next few months.

“It’s not like I do a few shows of a play and then shelve it forever. Many of my old productions are still up and running and I’d like to take the plays abroad too. For instance, we are still performing ‘Dance Like a Man’, ‘Sami’ and ‘Kanyadan’,” says Lillete.

“‘Wedding Album’ is Girish Karnad’s first contemporary play; it’s tongue-in-cheek and makes a comment on internet culture, the television culture and people of today. It’s a delightful play coming from an erudite thinker at the age of 70. The play is a departure from the mythological, historical works one associates with Karnad. I love to take up Indian writings, experimenting with different genres and playwrights. Of course, the medium of my productions remains English,” she adds.

On the anvil is another new play penned by Mahesh Dattani and an Indian musical. “I hate to be slotted into a particular genre, be it on stage or films. In fact, any creative person would hate that,” remarks Lillete.

A thought that Ira endorses too: “In ‘The President Is Coming’, I am among six young women in a reality contest; the winner gets to meet President Bush. I play a young entrepreneur who runs a multi-crore lipstick business. Shooting for the film, I prayed that people don’t slot me into similar roles,” she laughs.

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