CHICAGO: Nandita Das, acclaimed actress of Indian cinema and human rights activist, will appear in person at Yellow Box, Naperville and Facets Cinema, Chicago for a screening of Between the Lines (2014, 79 mins.), a cinematic adaptation of the 2012 play.
The screening, sponsored by India Development Service (IDS) is on Saturday, November 22 at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday November 23 at 3 pm. It will be followed by a Q&A with Das, who directed the original play, and Subodh who founded CinePlay. K. Sujata, President and CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women, will be moderating the Q/A session.
Set in contemporary India where educated and affluent couples are caught between modernity and tradition, the CinePlay explores the relationship between a husband (Subodh Maskara) and wife (Nandita Das) who are both lawyers who have been married for ten years. They end up arguing on opposite sides of a criminal trial, resulting in the blurring of their personal and professional lives. The battle in the court starts to impact their relationship at home, and they struggle to find a new balance. The filmed version, or “CinePlay,” of Between the Lines is directed by Ritesh Menon.
“IDS has a long history of bring new and unique genre of events to Chicago that has social relevance that goes beyond pure entertainment. We are privileged to be associated with screening of this CinePlay that examines the fundamental nature of human relationship that often gets challenged in unbeknownst ways”, said Nilesh Kothari, IDS Board member.
Nandita Das has acted in more than 40 feature films (including Earth, Fire, Before the Rains) in ten different languages.
She made her directorial debut with Firaaq in 2008 and Between the Lines marks her debut as a playwright and theater director. She is a major advocate for issues of social justice and human rights. In 2011, Nandita Das was the first Indian to be inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Women’s Forum. Currently she is at Yale as a World Fellow.
Between the Lines is produced by Chhoti Productions, a boutique production house that tells compelling stories through diverse mediums. CinePlay is a new form that cinematically captures a theater production. It creates a new viewing experience for audiences and expands the reach of stories contained in theatre, by overcoming the constraints of economics, geography, language, and accessibility. Moreover, it archives classic and contemporary plays for posterity.
Surendra Ullal
