AR: You have been involved in performing arts for more than 47 years. What aspect or section do you love the most?
SDS: It has been a wonderful 47 years. My first assignment was in 1968 as the first manager of the Kamani auditorium. Since then I've come a long way. From a costume designer, to a photographer, and now the director of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra for 20 years. I've donned different caps. But I think my true spirit lies in theater performances. From musicals to dramas to ballet, I've always tried to enhance the experience of theater in each of my plays.
AR: In many of your plays, you incorporated Indian mythology and ballet. How did you come up with the idea to create such a fusion?
SDS: I think it is useless to do any mythology unless we can make it relevant to today's generation. Personally I believe that I want to bring out Indian mythology from the circle of blind faith. I've specialized in presenting Indian mythology on stage through plays. But it becomes all the more challenging when I have to depict it via ballet. The narrations which run during the plays are self explanatory. But the dance brings out the essence of the story and the narration.
AR: You have brought in a lot of modern aesthetic elements on stage for plays like stronger lights and smarter sets. How important has this become to keep the stage technically sound?
SDS: The stages have become more artist friendly. In 1957, there used to be three theaters in here. I remember when the curtain would drop on stage, it would be terrible. The backstage was designed in such a way that the actors would have to run across the stage from one corner to the other to enter and exit and also the curtains were extremely bulky.
One year, I tried to conceptualize and design the set for Ramayan and focus on designing palaces and forests. We came up with the idea of revolving panels. So on one side of the panel there was a palace and on the other side there was a forest set. My husband helped us transform the stage. He is an engineer and orchestrated a lot of things. He made it really convenient to transform the panel into different palaces like Janak Fort to Ravan fort within minutes. All these things wouldn't have been possible without his help. Every now and then he would climb stairs and fix the lights himself.
AR: How has the audience changed over the years?
SDS: I started attending the shows here at Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra when I was seven years old. The audience used to generally consist of elderly
