"Between the Lines" Review

"Why is being emotional such a bad thing?" questions Nandita Das and the audience burst into applause.

This is just one of the many subtle, yet powerful scenes from "Between the Lines", a play featuring Nandita Das and Subodh Maskara. The play, directed by Nandita Das and produced by Chhoti Production, was performed at the Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall on 23rd October as part of The Hindu Theatre Fest, 2015.

The plot sounds simple enough. A couple married for 10 years face off against each other in court for a case which blurs their personal and professional lives. But what makes this play stand out is the way subtle gender discrimination among the so-called educated people is portrayed and handled. It is generally assumed that educated men treat their spouses equally and that there's not much of a gender bias at urban houses. But is that really the case?

Nandita Das does a brilliant job as the husband-loving, independent woman who begins to realize, whilst handling the case, the shallow emptiness she has felt throughout her marriage. People might argue that in a society where married women still get abused in a lot of places, things like a husband always deciding which restaurant to eat at or where to vacation is inconsequential. But in the larger scheme of things, such small decisions also make a lot of difference and it is important for the woman to have an equal say in all this.

Her husband (again an outstanding performance by entrepreneur-turned-theater artist, Subodh) begins to feel the pressure of the trial and is not able to digest losing the case to his own wife. It hits us hard when we, as women, realize that the men in our lives aren't always ready to accept and celebrate our successes the way we are.

The play ends on a happy note, but leaves us wondering about the so-called progress made on the women empowerment front. I walked out of the hall wondering how many couples would end up arguing that night, talking about bottled up feelings.