Shabana v/s Shabana

You could call this a theatrical coup. Picture this: a storehouse of talent — Shabana Azmi — in a one-woman play written by one of Indian theatre’s most acknowledged playwrights, Girish Karnad, directed by another theatre legend, Alyque Padamsee, and produced by Raell Padamsee.
Broken Images, that will premiere on December 17, is a first in many ways. Besides the meeting of theatrical masters, it is a play which will see Shabana essaying a double role, but, hold your breath, she is not playing two different characters, rather, two facets of the same character.And an unique technological advancement, to be implemented on the Indian stage for the first time, makes this possible.
“The minute I finished reading the script, I said I was on... the play is so dramatic and challenging. It’s a technical nightmare, I have to react to my own televised image on the screen. The image is shot as a single one hour shot, so the timing is crucial; there is no room for mistake,” says Shabana. Broken Images is a psychological thriller that rips the mask off a celebrity. The technical aspect has Alyque excited. “There are two Shabanas in the play, it is Shabana speaking to Shabana; with the aid of technology, there are two Shabanas on the stage at the same time!” states Alyque, who feels this is among the most exciting theatre projects he has done in the past few years.
But what is also commendable, Alyque adds, is that Girish has succeeded in getting inside the heart and mind of a woman, despite being a man. “The play reveals itself as it unwinds. In that sense, it’s a complete thriller because it takes the audience on a roller coaster ride and keeps them guessing who is the villain and who is the victim till the end.” Incidentally, Girish wrote the play with Arundathi Nag in mind, who acted in the Kannada and Hindi versions of the play. And now, it’s Shabana (and Shabana) taking over the English version.