Look at life in the eye, it’s not one pleasant song:Interview with director Mahesh Bhatt

The play ‘7:40 Ki Ladies Special’ has debuted to rave reviews from critics and theatregoers alike. Based on the life and experiences of Pooja Sharma Rekha, a transgender person, at the core of ‘7:40 Ki Ladies Special’ are an exploration of the human experience and the role of the heart in living a fulfilling life.

The key theme of the play is the importance of following one’s own heart and living a life that is true to oneself. Pooja Sharma emphasises the need to be authentic and to reject the societal pressures and expectations that can lead us astray from our true selves. She believes that by following our hearts, we can find a more profound sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Another important theme of the play is the interconnectedness of all things. Pooja sees the world as a vast and intricate web of relationships, where everything is connected and dependent on everything else. She emphasises the need to cultivate empathy and compassion for all living beings and to recognise our place in the larger scheme of things.

Overall, ‘7:40 Ki Ladies Special’ is a passionate and insightful exploration of what it means to be human. The play encourages us to embrace our passions, to live authentically, and to see the beauty and interconnectedness of all things.

Presented by filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, co produced by Sandip Kapur ‘7:40 Ki Ladies Special’ is written by Viren and Sapna Basoya, and directed by Viren Basoya. The play stars Pooja Sharma Rekha, Sapna Basoya, Utkarsh Gupta, Swaroopa Ghosh and with other crew member of Aawara theatre group

In conversation with Adgully, Mahesh Bhatt speaks about theatre and its essence, representation of the transgender community in mainstream art, his interest in offbeat and strong subjects, and more.

How did you come to collaborate with ‘7.40 Ki Ladies Special’?

Viren Basoya and Sapna Basoya, the director and writer, were there first. Their presence was very sincere. They were also very honest when it came to their expectations of me. They only asked for a little encouragement so they could develop a play with roots in the human heart. They kind of whispered the main concept of this play, ‘7.40 Ki Ladies Special’, to me, and I found it to be interesting.

I had watched Viren participate in the most recent schedule in a play that we performed for more than 50 performances, as well as watched him direct ‘Baat Niklegi’. But when I realised how pure, sincere, and authentic every actor’s portrayal was – especially considering that the main character, Pooja, is a rookie by international standards – I was astonished by this performance. She captivates you and you can’t help but look at her. This struck a chord with me in the opening scene and kind of carried me to emotionally dizzying new heights by the conclusion.

The representation of transgender people on screen is very stereotypical – mostly as caricatures or objects of pity or loathing. They get limited screen time in mainstream art. Your comment...

If you remember, several years back I had made a movie called ‘Tammana’, which centered around Tiku, a real-life transgender person. Since Tiku was not a very great actor, his character was portrayed by Paresh Rawal on screen. However, he was a part of that movie. Paresh was humble and sensible enough to keep Tiku on the sets constantly and looked at him after each shot. I believe it resonates differently when you have lived the life and when you play a character based on a live existence. And that’s what you witness in this play, which Pooja performed based on her own experiences.

Any biopic you would like to make on these kinds of uplifting subjects?

I believe that everything that isn’t going to be watched in large quantities is avoided in popular cinema and hence, we have seen the growth of the web series market. Furthermore, some topics are excruciatingly uncomfortable. To be open to this kind of authentic stuff, you must have a certain amount of guts. To put them to sleep, people prefer to see a wide variety of stuff – not to wake them up, but to be numb. Look at life in the eye, it’s not one pleasant song – this play ‘7.40 Ki Ladies Special; tells you that as it awakens you.

Many individuals lack the courage to look at the agonising loneliness that many people experience on a daily basis and that they are unaware of. Thus, plays are crucial. It will still provide you with a platform so that you can express the emotion that people who lead difficult lives nevertheless harbour in their hearts.

Theatre has its own essence. What advice would you like to give to the newcomers who visit the city of dreams to pursue acting?

Anybody who has a background in theatre, in my opinion, has already contributed to the improvement of the movie environment. Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, and even Shabana Azmi have extensive theatrical experience, but I would argue that Paresh continued acting until he was extremely old because, in my opinion, acting nourishes, much like doing ‘riyaz’. Although theatre allows you to freely access those complicated emotions, the mainstream does not.

Watch the conversation below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89qJb_v_Lso