Exclusive! Soahila Kapur on Where Did I Leave My Purdah?: I learned a lot from Swara Bhaskar and Divya Dutta

Where Did I Leave My Purdah?, a play by Mahesh Dattani, has now been released as a teleplay, in which veteran actress Sohaila Kapur plays the leading role of Nazia. The story of the play and the central character still fascinate the actress. Speaking to OTTplay, Sohaila shared her experience of working with younger actresses like Swara Bhaskar and Divya Dutta and learning a lot even at her age.

Talking about her character in the teleplay, Sohaila said, "I really loved the play and the way it is written, because it is exactly the opposite of how an older woman is treated in society. Mahesh (Dattani) has written the play in a very interesting way. My character, Nazia, is an actress who is not reduced to just being an older woman. She is an intelligent woman who was a celebrated actress in undivided India. She chooses to go to India instead of staying in Pakistan because she knows that the Pakistani film industry is not as strong as the Hindi film industry. Nazia is smart enough to understand the importance of commerce. So, when the whole subcontinent was up in flames based on religion, here was Nazia, making a choice based completely on following her passion to reestablish herself as an actress and make money. To me, that was intriguing."

"Also, the background of the play was special for me because it is set during the Partition. This is a topic that is close to my heart because my father's family is from the other side of the border," added the actress, who is the youngest sister of filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

Divya and Swara play pivotal roles in the play. Sharing her experience of working with them, Sohaila said, "It was wonderful to work with both of them. They both knew their lines perfectly. In fact, I was the one who used to stumble with my lines because I was not feeling well. Finally, I managed, but I must say that they were perfect, especially Divya. I really admire her as an actor. Every time she gave a shot, the crew clapped. So, for me, I was learning even at this age working with these young actresses."

The teleplay Where Did I Leave My Purdah? by Zee Theatre also stars Deepal Doshi. It is available to watch on Airtel Theatre, Dish TV (Rangmanch Active), and D2h (Rangmanch Active).