Vagina Monologues gets a Hindi twist

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koizaad Kotwal

The Vagina Monologues is a global phenomenon and has become a brand name in India too.

This powerful play — based on the award-winning play of the same title by Eve Ensler and translated in 22 languages — is a compilation of various monologues of women from around the world. It is a collection of women’s most intimate and heart-rending experiences on issues like love, rape, female genital mutilation, masturbation, birth and orgasms. From the Maharashtrian woman who met a man who “loved to look at her” to a Parsi woman who hasn’t been “down there since 1944”, this play enlightens and entertains you like no other. It discusses female masturbation, eroticism, sexual desire, and other themes that are generally excluded from mainstream public discussion, thereby empowering women as liberated sexual subjects.
Produced and directed by Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal and Kaizaad Kotwal, the Hindi version of The Vagina Monologues, named Kissa Yoni Ka, has been translated by Ritu Bhatia and Jaydeep Sarkar. The line-up of the play includes Varshaa Agnihotri, Rasika Duggal, Dilnaz Irani, and Dolly Thakore. Though the Hindi version of the play has been performed in Mumbai before, this was the first time that it was played at blueFROG in Delhi. “We have been performing the English version of the Vagina Monologues in Sri Lanka since the last 10 years. People would see the play and say us ‘why don’t you come up with some vernacular language of the play’. Looking at the overwhelming response of the people for the English version of the play, and after an agreement with the playwright, Ms Ensler, that we won’t change the theme, we came up with the Hindi version,” says My Kotwal. And he is very happy to see the way the people of Delhi have responded to the Hindi version of the Vagina Monologues. “Ninety per cent of people in India say that the Hindi version of the play is more powerful. It seems they can relate to everything in a much better way in this version then the English one. I have seen audiences laugh, cry as if they can relate to each other in this version in a much, much better way,” adds Mr Kotwal.
The difference between the The Vagina Monologues and Kissa Yoni Ka is much more than just the language. The Hindi version of the play is much more expressive. For example, in English, the play talks about New York City but in Hindi it talks about Mumbai. In English, the play talks about a sex worker in New York or some other Western country, however, in Hindi it talks about the same sex worker from Bihar. The music between each monologue is so apt unlike The Vagina Monologues. There is more song and dance in this version than the original one. However, there is no difference when it comes to the script of the original play. By incorporating Indian cities and towns, the producer and director wanted to give the audience a feeling more like at home.
Mr Kotwal says he is happy to see people from all age groups — youths in their 20s, people in their 40s as well as the older ones — coming to watch Kissa Yoni Ka. “Today people are more open towards sex and sexuality and they want to talk about it. They are not shy anymore. This is the reason why we are getting people from all age group coming to watch this play. This is a healthy development and will help generate interest in theatres,” he adds.
Commenting on the low-level of awareness and interest seen among people of India with regard to theatres, Mr Kotwal says, “Theatre is not as popular as cinema or TV soaps in India because we don’t have good plays here to show to people. Whenever there is a good theatre, people talk about it more than cinema or any other thing. They say this is the best form of entertainment. So we got to have good plays that can connect to people in a better way.”
Mr Kotwal feels that there should be more regional theatres so that young people start taking interest in theatres. “The youth don’t go to theatre because they don’t know the power theatre has. They are many college-going youth who have never read any of the play by Shakespeare. I think there should be more regional theatres. It’s good to translate English or other foreign language plays, but we have to create our own plays.
It is sad that apart from Rabindranath Tagore, we have not been able to create more playwrights from India. We have to change this. The way Indian fiction has made its place in the world, Indian playwrights also have to make the same place,” adds the producer.