The unconquered woman; Asha Sharath brings silenced stories of women to stage

Asha Sharath, who played pivotal roles in both the Malayalam and Tamil versions of the superhit movie 'Drishyam,' had a quiet wish when she was shooting for its Kannada remake. There was a particular scene where Geetha Prabhakar and her husband walk away helplessly after realising who murdered their son. In both the Malayalam and Tamil versions, Asha’s portrayal of Geetha ended with her walking away in silent grief, her eyes swollen with tears.

“But deep inside,” Asha recalls, “I wished Geetha could turn back, just once, to look at the man who destroyed her world. After all, she’s a mother. Even if words fail, a single glance could convey her anguish and rage.” When she shared this thought with director P Vasu, who helmed the Kannada version, he readily agreed. And when the moment came, Asha delivered a glance that was fiery.

That same fire, of grief, resilience and defiance, has now found expression in Aparajitha, her dance drama that gives voice to women who have been silenced, misunderstood, or forgotten. Through Aparajitha, which premiered at the Soorya Dance Festival, Asha proclaims that no woman is ever truly defeated. “Perhaps it is because I am a woman myself that Aparajitha was born,” says Asha. “The struggles faced by women, whether in myth or in modern life, are strikingly similar. This thought led me to weave together stories of women from mythology and the present day.”

The characters who come alive in Aparajitha are Damayanti, Devayani, Nangeli and Uthra, each of whom a symbol of courage amid despair. Asha points out how Nalacharitham Kathakali glorifies the suffering of Nalan, who abandoned Damayanti in a forest while she slept, holding him close. “But doesn’t Damayanti’s pain matter too?” Asha asks. “Doesn’t she have the right to express her anguish and thoughts? That’s why I brought Damayanti into Aparajitha.”

The story of Devayani, who was betrayed when Subrahmanya turned his love toward Valli, is retold. “Her love was deceived,” Asha says. And then there is Nangeli, the woman who cut off her breasts to protest the breast tax, at a time when women required a man’s permission even to cover their bodies. “Before taking that extreme step,” Asha recounts, “Nangeli placed her baby in a cradle and sought forgiveness from her child. It’s heartbreaking, that she gave up her life to spark change for other women.”

Reflecting on her own family, Asha also shares a personal story. “My father came with a marriage proposal to my mother, Kalamandalam Sumathi, after falling in love with her at the first sight. It was his support that helped her continue her studies. Yet, my grandfather never even asked my mother if she liked the proposal or not. My mother too used to tell this often. When my grandmother once asked him if her consent should be sought, his reply was, ‘Do you ask the chicken before adding chilli to the curry?’ .”

Aparajitha also includes Uthra, the young woman killed by her husband using a venomous snake. “I once saw a performance in a dance bar,” Asha recalls. “A man was throwing money at a dancer, asking her to remove her clothes. How sad!. People may call it her choice, but still...(cruelty often hides behind the guise of consent). Uthra’s story shook me the same way. She was a young girl who entered married life with dreams and she was a mother too. I included her story after speaking to her parents and her teachers too came to watch the performance.”