By Maya En
Acting for Darshan Mann is like water to a river; one can not be without the other. Even when born into a culture where acting is not the most ‘appreciated’ profession for women, Darshan has created a large space for herself as an actor.
She has performed leading roles in over seven full length stage plays, and her roles elaborate a lot more than the typical characters of a young lead artist or a romantic heroin. Each one of Darshan’s roles involved complexity. She has portrayed lives of young Punjabi women in diverse lived realities, has acted as an old woman at the end of her rope, and, believe it or not, has played the role of an abusive man.
I was curious to know what these roles meant to Darshan, and which ones she really likes. So, I went ahead and interviewed her. This article is based on the information I gathered during the interview, and on the information displayed on her blog in Portfolio and Stage Plays.
A young Punjabi wife: Sharbati
Darshan’s top favorite role is from her play ‘Sharbati’ where she portrayed a young wife. The role was challenging for her in more than one ways. First of all, the locale was a village in the Panjab encompassing its culture and language. Darshan had come to Canada as a young bride, and because she was brought up in Nainital UP, she did not have direct immersion in Punjabi culture or language. She worked hard to rediscover her cultural roots, and the results were heartening as the people who saw the performance and those who reviewed it, did not find the alienation that could have marred the character and the play if the actress was any less committed to acting.
The second challenge that came with Sharbati’s character was depicting the emotional dilemmas of a young woman who is blamed for not conceiving a child out of no fault of her own. This character is torn between a lost love, an impotent but loving husband, and a tradition that chooses to put blame on the woman without even giving a thought to the factual realities of life.
Sharbati was in love with a young man when her father looses her in a wrestling game to a friend who is poor but has two marriageable sons. Sharbati is given in marriage without her consent. She suppresses her feelings to assure herself and her husband Narinjan a happy married life. In a few months, when she ‘fails’ to get pregnant, Giyan Kaur, her mother-in-law and others begin to blame and abuse her without thinking that the deficiency could be in the son/husband/man. Groping for survival, she is advised by an older woman to try to have an intercourse with the younger brother (Deba) so that a child can be conceived, a marriage can be saved, and a tradition can be continued. Sharbati is again forced to do something that she did not want to do: seduce her brother-in-law. Her brother-in-law had shown interest in Sharbati’s younger sister ChhoTi. Knowing this, Sharbati risks her reputation and her family relations by seducing the brother-in-law. Deba gives in but is mauled with feelings of guilt toward his brother. In the end, the brothers fight over property, and Deba is killed by Sharbati’s husband Narinjan despite her efforts to save him.
Throughout this play, Darshan Mann remains exquisite as she plays the contradictory role of Sharbati who at once is a Victim and a Survivor. The victimizing traditions where she has no say in the decision of her marriage, no voice to defend herself in the home of her inlaws, and no recourse to take any positive action to resolve issues surrounding her. This duality, that many women may face in their lives, is expressed by Darshan with ease and an artistic touch.
This 2.5 hour play was staged in a duration of three weeks, and Darshan was on stage for 2 of those hours. Written by Rana Jung Bahadur, it was directed by Mohan Baggan, and produced by Surnat Kendar.
More about Sharbati.
A Woman’s Broken Dreams: Kanti
In the play, ‘Ik KuRi Ik Sapna’ Darshan Mann is ‘Kanti’, a young college girl who has dreams and aspirations about her life but her sudden arranged marriage lands her in an abusive home. Her husband Joe is an alcoholic and does not hesitate to hurl emotional and physical abuse at his wife. So, Kanti’s days are spent in devising strategies to avoid daily abuse in her marital home. Over time, the direct impacts of wife assault and the ongoing stress of dealing with it, breaks her. Kanti begins to loose her mind. Her need to escape from her abusive reality becomes so strong that she escapes to an earlier, happier, time in her life when she was 8 or 9 years old. Her health condition is revealed to the others, and it becomes obvious that Kanti needs the abuse in her life to stop, and she needs professional help to heal the psychological wounds of wife abuse. During her treatment, she meets other women, and feels enough support to come back to her reality. In the end, Kanti brings herself to health and safety by standing up to Joe, and stopping his abusive behavior.
There were many demanding situations in this play including taking physical and emotional abuse on stage. “I used to cry going through those feelings. It was a draining experience on daily basis like the abuse suffered by Kanti’s character”, Darshan says.
But the most demanding aspect of it was when Darshan was required to ‘become’ an eight year old on stage. “I had to rely on my moves to depict the age difference” Darshan says, remembering how she incorporated the mannerism of a child to express those scenes.
Ik KuRi Ik Sapna was first performed as a 45-minute stint, and then a 2.5 hour full-length play. Written by Ajmer Rode, it was directed by Ajmer Rode and Bhupinder Dhaliwal, and was produced by Surnat Kendar
More about Ik KuRi Ik Sapna
Assuming Male Authority
Darshan Mann played an authoritative male figure in a 45-minute play staged for India Mahila Association’s Victim Support group. Written, acted and directed by Darshan and Jyoti Sanghera, the play explored situations where women’s health is ignored by their husbands and/or families.
The action occurs in a ‘normal’ working class family where a young working wife who has already borne a child and is pregnant again, faces neglect and abuse in her marital home. The neglect occurs at both physical and emotional levels, and leads to fatigue and malnutrition in the wife. Her doctor recommends health supplements, regular intake of nutritious foods, and of course, rest. In the next few instances, it becomes clear to her that she has to take some positive steps, for example, open her own bank account and take safe steps to make the husband stop his abuse and bullying.
It was a strong experience for Darshan to play an abusive husband after playing various roles to depict different forms of woman abuse. “Doing the role of a man, I could feel how power can make someone crazy. I experienced change in my personality when I wore male clothes, adopted a male mannerism, and assumed authority in decision-making situations. It taught me a few things about myself, and the timidity that is expected of us as women.”
The play, evolved by Jyoti Sanghera and Darshan Mann, used husband/wife/mother-in-law dialogues from real life.
Depicting Tragedies of Old Age
In this role in ‘Dhalde PerchhaawaeiN’, Darshan plays an old woman living with her husband. The retired couple has a great relationship between them but is pained and frustrated by the estrangement they experience from their sons and their families. It is more than just ‘painful’ because it condemns them to live an isolated and lonely existence instead of the joy of the company of their children and grand children.
To accent the impersonalization of people of old age that occurs in our social systems, the characters are named ‘Nana’ Grandpa, and ‘Nani’ Grandma.
Nana Nani had two sons. One joined Indian Army, and died in action. The other goes to America to do PhD, marries a White woman, and settles down there. The two parents continue on their daily lives waiting to see their son again, and to meet their daughter-in-law and later, to meet their grand children. They become so love-sick that they try to hold on to kids who have dialed a wrong number just to feel the warmth of human interaction. After a few years, and as a result of their insistence, the son comes back to India for a visit but when he arrives at their home he is alone, and no luggage. They find out that the son was so ashamed to reveal his roots to his wife and children abroad that he had booked rooms in a hotel for them to stay. He was there alone because he was not sure if he should let his new family meet his old one. This was a cruel shock to the old woman and man. That night, Nani prepares special drink of milk for herself and her husband. They drink it, knowing they will never open their eyes again in this cruel world.
Darshan was exquisite as she prepared and administered poisoned milk to herself and co-star … The character of an aged woman was a big challenge for Darshan: “It required a complete change inside and out! I had to bring my energy level to the lowest ebb of my personality, and keep it there throughout the rehersals and the 2-hour long performance where I was off stage only for five minutes.”
Doing this role, Darshan felt the depth of loneliness experienced by people at the end of their lives. “I think loneliness is the biggest problem of old age” Darshan says.
Based on Marathi play ‘Sandheya Chhaya’, ‘Dhalde PerchhaweiN’ was written in Punjabi by Ravinder Sodhi, directed by co-star Mohan Baggan, and was produced by Mela Entertainment LTD.
More about Dhalde PerchhaweiN
Resisting Sex-selection as a Wife
In ‘Nirlujj’, Darshan plays a young woman who is living happily with her husband and two daughters when her world is shattered by the gender bias ingrained in all cultures including that of Punjabis. As she becomes pregnant for the third time, the lurking expectations from her to bear a son, and her husband’s insistence on it, destroy their marriage.
In this ‘normal’ middle class Punjabi family, the pregnancy of a woman who has given birth to two daughters and no son, generates curiosity. There is talk of an ultrasound, and of getting holy religious people to assure a male fetus. The Pandit is indeed consulted, and allowed to carry out certain rituals, and to prepare certain potions to facilitate the conception of a son. Despite such efforts, the ultrasound reveals a female fetus. The husband wants the wife to have an abortion, she refuses. Then it is suggested to him to marry his wife’s younger sister to have a son since this one was incapable of it. The younger sister who has been sponsored to Canada by the man’s family, upon hearing that, commits suicide. The man is distraught in the last scene when his little daughter brings him a glass of water and a loving smile.
Darshan’s role had many high points in this play, but for her, the most difficult was the one where she is forced to have an abortion. ‘Going through the dilemma of a woman who is asked to abort her baby because it’s a girl, was a tough place to be. But I had to be that woman to do justice to the role” Darshan says.
The play was written by Ajmer Rode, directed by Bhupinder Dhaliwal, and was produced by Surnat Kendar.
More about ‘Nirlujj’
An Enlightened College Girl
In ‘Navi PeeRhi’, The New Generation, Darshan plays an enlightened college girl who is in love with a fellow student. Both have ideas about improving the society. Lucky for them, their families agree to their marriage. The mother in law sends a list of dowry items to the girl’s home. This upsets Darshan, and she confronts the Hero. His response is that these are old traditions and they can not to do anything about them but to let them be. The woman breaks the engagement saying that they, as the new generation have the responsibility to change unhealthy social practices.
It was a short play that was written and presented by the group collectively.
Beginning from Darshan’s second play ‘TooRi vala Kotha’, Darshan has portrayed different stages of empowerment of women where her characters represent the progressive, aware and pro-active women who are strong enough to withstand tradition and to emerge with renewed vigor. Such roles help to evolve consciousness of its audience, a pre-requisite for Darshan to feel excited or committed about a plot.
Her role in ‘Dhalde PerchhaweiN’, is the only play that takes such a pessimistic turn at the end. I am sure, if Darshan was the author of this play, she would have turned it around to show that the gift of life can not be wasted because of sons and daughters and other loved ones. That it needs to be loved and lived for its own sake.
So far, Darshan has worked only in Punjabi theatre in British Columbia yet her varied roles and the commitment with which she has accomplished them, demonstrate her ability to be a world class actor.
What no one knows, is that Darshan also has the makings a gifted producer.
Darshan’s talents, commitment to performing arts, and her versatility will flourish in any and all available modes of expression be it stage, television, video or feature film.
Darshan Mann 