Three Women: a musical theatre piece by Isheeta Ganguly, followed by a panel discussion 

Asia Society India presents in Mumbai 'Three Women', a drama-comedy musical theatre piece by Isheeta Ganguly, writer, director and performing artist. Premised around Rabindranath Tagore’s life and works, the play presents a novel take on identity, reimagined through his most popular heroines – Bimala from Home and the World and Charu from Charulata, seen through the eyes of Kadambari Devi, Tagore’s sister-in-law, who deeply impacted his journey as a cultural stalwart.

In playwright Ganguly’s own words, the three women characters in the play “…explore their purpose across times to realize that while there may have been an external revolution for women between the 19th and 21st centuries, their quiet, inner struggles remain much the same today.” Given the oft repeated dismissal of women’s perspectives in how stories are told, Three Women reimagines what happens when women are allowed this space to own their lived experience – both personally and professionally.

The musical first premiered in Mumbai in 2014 at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival with Asia Society India Centre, and has since then travelled widely internationally. The upcoming edition celebrates 10 years since the play first premiered, and will be followed by a discussion that reflects on some of the themes that the play asks us to consider: identity, purpose, empowerment and freedom of choice for women. Taking its cue from the play, the conversation brings together three women panelists who offer a non-traditional perspective to how stories are told and culture is shaped. The discussion brings together Atika Chohan, Anindita Ghose, Sheena Khalid and Isheeta Ganguly to reflect on the themes emerging from the musical performance. Some of the questions that the discussion will touch upon include: How have roles shifted for women over the decades, and how constrained women are today? How independent is their identity, and what does freedom really mean?

Note: This play is open to all. Seating is first-come-first-served, and members of Asia Society will get priority seating.

CREDITS

Prerna Talwar as Kadambari

Richa Shukla as Charu

Archana Patel as Bimala

Sonu Anand as Amal

Written, directed and vocals: Isheeta Ganguly

Tabla: Basudev Saha

Musical Arrangement inspired by: Shantanu Moitra

Costumes: Tarun Tahiliani

Light Design: Kunal Sharma

Sound: Tulika Naik

Opening Narrations: Mandira Bedi, Juhi Chawla, Lisa Haydon

SPEAKERS

Isheeta Ganguly is an acclaimed writer, director and performing artist. Her three musical theatre productions ("Three Women", "Sundays with Chitra & Chaitali" and "Shakuntala Awaits") have garnered international recognition for seamlessly blending together contemporary feminism, history, mythology and pop culture with 19th century classic heroines from India in a modern day, dram-com format. Her productions have been featured at prestigious venues in North America, India, and Southeast Asia with "Shakuntala Awaits'' having had an Off-Broadway run with the HERE Theatre in NYC. "Three Women" has been excerpted at the Jaipur Literary Festival, at the Intrepid Museum in NYC and the Opening of the Lakmé Fashion Week amongst many other prestigious openings. Opening narrators for the production have included Bollywood actresses Juhi Chawla, Lisa Haydon, Mandira Bedi and Raveena Tandon. With costumes by Tarun Tahiliani and music composed for the production by Shantanu Moitra, the production regales and delights. With her BA in bio-medical ethics from Brown University and her Masters in Public Health from Columbia, Isheeta is also a Bellagio Fellow from the Rockefeller Foundation. Prior to making her full-time transition into the performing arts, Isheeta has helmed several leadership roles in both the U.S and India as a management consultant and as the Country Director for Sesame Street India. Isheeta lives in Mumbai with her husband and two sons. 

Anindita Ghose is a writer, journalist and editor based in Bombay. Her debut novel ‘The Illuminated’ was published in India in 2021 and subsequently in the U.K. and is a bestseller. Anindita is the former editor of Mint Lounge, the award-winning Saturday magazine that supplements the Indian business daily Mint. As the Features Director of Vogue India, she wrote and commissioned stories on art, books, culture, design and travel, and her writing continues to be published in a range of national and international publications. Anindita has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a master’s degree in linguistics from the University of Mumbai. The Independent has picked Anindita as one of their nine best upcoming authors from India. Currently, she leads communications for a global social impact consulting firm and is working on her next two books. 

Atika Chohan is a screenwriter based in Bombay. Widely known for writing some of the most progressive, inclusive, and unflinching Indian films and women characters, Chohan won immense critical acclaim for co-writing Chhapaak (2020), a film based on the life of an acid attack survivor, Laxmi. Her stellar work also includes Margarita with a Straw, Waiting, and Guilty, a Netflix Original produced by Karan Johar. Her latest films include Agra, which premiered at the prestigious Quinzaine (Director's fortnight) in Cannes 2023, and Sahela, an Indo-Australian co-production executive-produced by Hollywood actor and director Dev Patel. Agra and Sahela played at some of the world's biggest festivals last year, including SXSW, Sydney 2023, and MAMI, Mumbai 2023, while Ulajh, a mainstream film, a female IAS officer's gendered quandary in the world of diplomats, released in theatres in August 2024. She currently has a series about gender crime in India, in development. 

Sheena Khalid is a theatre practitioner based in Mumbai. She is the founding member of Patchworks Ensemble, a devised theatre company. With Patchworks, she works as a director, writer, producer and sometimes performer. Credits include Ila, The Gentlemen's Club and Shikaar amongst others.