4TH March, SRI RAM CENTRE, 4:30 pm
Produced by: Akvarious Productions
Language: English
Duration: 2 Hours (including interval)
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
I selected this play because I found the form very interesting. The idea of having five different stories which are interconnected but don’t necessarily follow a linear pattern was intriguing and challenging. While directing All About Women the main focus was on keeping things simple and as real as possible, without having to rely on any gimmicks or frills, and on giving importance to the spoken word and evoking the substance in the relationships between the characters. We also achieved a lot through a series of intense workshops. And eventually, some wonderful, gifted actresses brought this play to life.
- Hidaayat Sami
SYNOPSIS
Noted English actress Sarah Miles once said “There’s a little bit of a hooker in every woman… a little bit of a hooker and a little bit of God”, thereby confirming the fact that the journey into the female psyche can be a pretty arduous, if not confusing one. This play takes that very journey and structures its findings in an unusual way, with five life stories alternatively interweaving, which are poignant, hilarious, real, moving and ultimately all about women.
NOMINEES
Best Director: Hidaayat Sami
Hidaayat Sami has been actively involved in theatre for 18 years, during which he has been a part of almost 100 stage productions. His expansive expertise includes acting, production, light design and direction. He has worked on a regular basis with theatre stalwarts like Pt. Satyadev Dubey, Naseeruddin Shah, Sunil Shanbag, Astaad Deboo, among many others.
Best Actor (Female): Ratnabali Bhattacharjee
Ratnabali Bhattacharjee burst onto the Mumbai theatre scene in 2004, and in a very short span of time has worked with Makrand Deshpande, Rehaan Engineer, Akarsh Khurana, Sunil Shanbag and even the Commedia Dell’arte. She has also played pivotal roles in Offshore, an American film, and Mumbai Calling, a British comedy series helmed by Sanjeev Bhaskar. Her upcoming projects include Saeed Mirza’s feature film, Savdhaan Meri Jaan.
Best Actor (Female): Prerna Chawla
Prerna Chawla has managed to juggle theatre with a successful career as an accent trainer. Having worked extensively on stage and in ads, her most recent achievement was being Hrithik Roshan’s accent trainer for Anurag Basu’s film, Kites. Her recent theatre projects include Jake’s Women by Neil Simon and Proof by David Auburn.
Best Actor (Female): Nimrat Kaur
Nimrat Kaur started her career with a Kumar Sanu music video. Her theatre career started when she took home the Thespo award for Best Actress for her lead role in Steve Thompson’s Damages. She then worked with Sunil Shanbag in a couple of plays. She even bagged a supporting role in the Hollywood production of One Night with the King (starring Omar Sharif and Peter O’Toole).
Best Actor (Female): Shivani Tanksale
Shivani Tanksale started acting with a wide range of theatre groups, including Ekjute, Poor Box Productions (in The Vagina Monologues), Q Theatre Productions etc. Having done in a bit part in Escape to Taliban, she now has important roles in upcoming features – The President is Coming , Savdhaan Meri Jaan and Mumbai Cutting. Theatrically, she also directed two successful plays in 2008 –Namak Mirch and The Shehenshah of Azeemo.
Best Stage Design: Ayaz Basrai and Payal Wadhwa
A production design graduate from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Ayaz Basrai returned to Mumbai after gathering 3 years of experience in Dubai, to set up his own studio – The Busride. Specializing in space design, Ayaz has designed various restaurants, offices and sets for advertisements, TV shows and feature films.
Payal Wadhwa also graduated from NID, a few years after Ayaz. With her ultimate aim being a degree in scenography, she came to Mumbai to gather work experience and joined The Busride. She also freelances, and has designed sets for Channel V, MTV and a couple of feature films.
