'Selfie'- the right portrayal of self
Covering your true self with multiple layers of makeup, 'Selfie' – a trend in the digital era of smartphones and hashtags, has taken over the senses of today's millennials. In the urge of getting accepted by the world, they have forgotten their individuality and are living in a web of lies.
Taking the current scenario into consideration, Tanaaz Irani is coming up with a play titled 'Selfie'. The theatre performance would tell a story about five different women with different perspectives. Meeting in a ladies waiting room at a remote railway station, each of them finds their lives intersecting with cathartic consequences. The story would unfold gradually, highlighting the importance of believing in self and not faking by applying makeup to correct our individuality. Besides Tanaaz, Kishwar Merchant, Priya Malik, Dimple Shah and Shweta Gulati will also be playing quintessential roles in the play.
The play which will be presented for the first time at Kamani auditorium on June 16, is very close to Tanaaz's heart and she believes that such issues should be taken up by filmmakers and theatre groups. She feels that the comedy roles are enough done and now is the era of meaningful content which the audience is ready to accept.
Speaking of how she landed in this field, Tanaaz says, "I started my career on stage when I was 8 years old and it has been almost 10 years since then that I have not been in touch with theatre. I was just waiting to go back on the stage as I was done with having the slice of comedy, suspense, dramas. There was no fun and
I felt a void for good scripts."
'Selfie', which is an adaption of a Marathi play by Shilpa Navalkar is very close to Tanaaz's heart. "I was eagerly waiting to work on something different than what I had been doing. While I was thinking of something like this, a friend sent me a CD of some Marathi play and asked me to watch it," she stated, adding, "I was completely taken back by the story of five women who are strangers and living their own lives, facing difficulties and towards the end coming together and solving each other's problems just by changing each other's perspectives. They did this in a very funny manner because their nature is very sarcastic. This is where I realized that this is the script I need to do, something I was looking for.''
Talking about the unique name, the director of the play said, "The reason behind the name selfie is self-explanatory. When we take selfie sometimes we are concerned about pimples, expressions, color correction and we tend to correct our entire individuality. This play tells you that you are just perfect the way you are and need to maintain your own characteristics, because nobody can play you, play your real self. Even when I play a 60 year old who is irritable and angry, I still give my natural expressions because I
believe I am beautiful this way. It's a fantastic play because the script is the hero and all you need to do is Add On. Moreover I have such amazing actors working with me who have added substance to the play."
Enacting a 60-year-old lay, directing the play, incorporating five stories without making it look messy sounds like a difficult task but Tanaaz calls it an extremely exciting and beautiful journey one could think of.
Tanaaz and her cast are very excited about their performance in the Capital and are eagerly waiting for the positive response to the unconventional plot.
