TODAY’S PRINCESSES CAN PUNCH TOO
For someone who scored 92% in Twelfth standard, went ahead to pursue her further studies at St Stephen’s, Delhi, one of the best colleges in the country and then went forward to attain Master’s Degree in International Politics from England, becoming a theatre actor and director does not seems to be a predictable career option. But we can bet the leap must be thrilling. Was there any fight? Who got punched down? Without further ado, let’s dive into journey of Aarushi Thakur.
If you are a person with a conventional mindset, by now you must have starting questioning this girl’s choice to be an actor/director and we do not blame you; it is unfortunate but common. According to Aarushi, theatre was always a part of her being, possibly because of her acquaintance and exposure to the best performances across the world, right from her childhood.
Would it change your mind if we tell you that Aarushi was born to Deepika and Balwant Thakur. Yes, the renowned theatre personality and scholar Balwant Thakur, who has numerous achievements to his credit including Padmashree award and a Sangeet Natak Academy Award.
Now it must seem obvious choice for Aarushi, possibly an easy option for her, as her father is well-established in the field. Doesn’t it? Such is our mindset, always trying to pick flaws and too hesitant to give a person credit of their own success. While it must have played a vital role in shaping her interests but not entirely her accomplishments. We cannot change your approach or shift your belief, if you think otherwise.
Yet, when is it too late or too hard to understand. If you’d ask Aarushi, she would say, “As a child I used to keenly observe actors on stage and dream to be there on stage under umpteenth number of spotlights and performing my part to the best of my ability, some day. This dream was always in the back of my mind, no matter where I was and what I did.”
Answer is ‘Dreams and passion’. Initially it seemed nothing more than a hobby and Aarushi kept herself fixed towards her studies. At the age of 21, Aarushi decided to pursue theatre as her main goal. She shares, “I started with Charles Dickens’ lengthiest novel, ‘Great Expectations’ and scripted that into an English play and also directed it. It was my first play and there has not been any looking back from that day onwards.”
But, don’t you assume that it was easy to pick this field. According to Aarushi, there were times when people thought that she was naive to choose theatre as a career choice, because of the notion that a female director would not succeed. Others would say that she was too young to take up direction, because of perception that young people could not comprehend big artistic ideas.
She shares, “I have been discouraged a lot. Some even went to an extent to say that I was too pretty and delicate to be a director because according to them, a director needs to be ruthless and strong.”
She says, “People need to realize that art is art and no field should have monopoly over it. A painter is an artist, so is a cook! If a person has good dressing sense, that person too is an artist.”
Ever had a feeling that there are people out there who are anticipating your failure, eyeing on you like vultures. Well, Aarushi was not an exception to it but that never stopped her, instead it pushed her further away from them and their negative stereotypes and motivated her to succeed.
Aarushi says, “I never doubted my choice of career. I have always believed that if you need to excel in a particular field, it is going to be difficult so I am prepared for all the challenges that will come my way.”
Aarushi’s ideology is clear and straightforward, ‘you have to fall in love with whatever you are doing and give your best only then you will achieve self-actualization’.
Therefore Aarushi has kept her focus on her approach towards work. “My dad has achieved the best at a very young age. Obviously, my Father is a huge source of inspiration in my life both personally and professionally.”
However, Aarushi wishes to carve her own niche, and be recognized for her work. She further adds, “Although I have been and still have a lot to learn from him, my father’s approach towards work is different from mine, we have different styles. I have a long way to go but as of now I like to take up challenges; I like to work on scripts that are unique to our region and not being pursued by artists in the country.”
Not only her father, according to Aarushi, her mother also had a very strong influence in her career. She elaborates, “Since childhood I have seen her as a strong working woman in our family. She worked hard in office and also spent great quality time with us. She is very positive and encouraging person.”
She further adds, “She is my biggest critic. It’s very difficult to impress her with a performance. I am fortunate in that regard because she has always appreciated my work.”
Over the past five years, Aarushi has worked day in and day out. The nature of her profession is such that she has not taken even a day off her work, not even Sundays. She explains, “I believe if you love your work, you can dedicate your whole life towards achieving your goals. I keep making daily goals, monthly goals and annual goals; after each production, I have taken up another project.”
In past couple of years, Aarushi has scripted more than ten plays and directed them; scripted and directed two of Charles Dicken’s classics, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist in English, translated and directed two of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Twelfth Night’ in Hindi.
She has performed as an actor internationally in the year 2011 in Russia and Germany, and had directorial ventures at Kingdom Of Dreams in 2017 with a Jam-packed hall. She also directed at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in 2018.
Aarushi is one of the rare and youngest directors of the state whose work has been recognised both nationally and internationally. Recently Aarushi’s play ‘In Her Shoes’ was performed for the Indian Navy at Navy Nagar at Mumbai, at Naatshala, Amritsar and at Indore too.
Pertaining to Aarushi’s keen interest in history, she conducted extensive research and wrote a play in English on the first queen in the history of England to be executed and her love story with Henry VIII. She reveals, “I am planning to publish that book ‘Henry & Anne” in this coming year.”
She further adds, “I have also written and directed a biographic play based on the life of a warrior poet, Kunwar Viyogi Ji which was performed at Chandigarh recently.”
Aarushi’s plays have been performed in Jammu and outside the state including Mumbai, Amritsar, Delhi, Chandigarh and Indore and have been applauded by the audience tremendously. She shared that at present she is working on translating ‘Romeo & Juliet’ in Hindi and plan to have its shows in Delhi in June 2018.
Aarushi’s dedication and hard-work has rightfully warranted several awards and honours over the years. She is recipient of ‘Young Women Achiever Award’ in 2015, ‘Prem Jamwal Youth Innovation Award’ in 2016 and has been honored by the Navy at Navy Naga, Mumbai in 2018.
Aarushi expresses, “I feel awards don’t make you an achiever. It’s the love and appreciation people bestow on you and your work that you cherish for the rest of your life and so it is your biggest achievement. Jam-packed halls, echoing applauses and standing ovations, wherever I have performed, have given me sense of accomplishment like nothing else.”
Aarushi puts across, “I owe my success to all those who believed in me and in a girl who could dream, think big, fight back and raise questions and make plays about women empowerment, child abuse and stereotypes of our society. Those are the people who should matter and they are the ones who matter for me and I owe them everything.”
Aarushi recently married to a well-established young Scientist in England, Karan Rana, whose field of work is totally different from her. Aarushi highlights impact of marriage on her career when she says, “I think we are very fortunate that marriage did not put a full stop to my career goals. I am blessed to have a husband and family who support me, my vision and dreams.”
She further adds, “He is the backbone of my work since we got married. He has not only supported me but also been a true soul mate, pushing me towards perusing my dreams. He is the love of my life who doesn’t hold me back from achieving my goals.”
To anyone who has a dream but finds her/his circumstances unfavorable, Aarushi suggests, “I feel that if you really want something, you will fight mountains to achieve it. Parent pressure and influence, unfavorable circumstance, are just excuses to pacify yourself if you are not daring enough to fight for your goals.”
Aarushi is planning to work and experiment with new scripts, take up a film making course and direct films too. As a director she wants to challenge herself and work on something fresh and new that connects with the youth instantly.
She also reveals, “In the future, I wish to set up an international campus of Natrang in the heart of London and promote the young talent of our country and dissolve the bridges created by politics between nations by strengthening cultural exchange.”
According to Aarushi, the most intimidating or difficult aspect of her field is that she cannot work alone; a director can never work alone. Being one, she always requires a set of team member to work with; actors, backstage workers, music directors, costume designers etc.
She explains, “My outcome is result of their efforts as much as it is of mine.”
On the other hand, the most satisfying part of her job is that she can serve the society to at large. “Theatre has power to influence and educate people,” she shares, adding, “I’ve made awareness plays regarding female foeticide, spoken openly about child abuse, body shamming and PCOS disorder through the help of plays written by me. That really makes me feel good. I feel as if I have been able to bring about a change in the society.”
And if you are mistaken to assume that direction is a laid back profession, here’s to burst that bubble of misconception. Aarushi shares, “This year in February I was in India for my shows, I travelled five cities, did six shows, travelled from UK to India, managed a group of 18 people and also did a ten days workshop with fresher’s and presented a new play just a day before I was flying back to UK. It gets hectic sometimes but that is the beauty of it all. I am ready to take coffee shots and wake up all night doing what I love the most.”
For other aspirants, Aarushi explains, “This is not just a profession, it is an art. We need the talent, the skill and the training required to achieve perfection in this field. This profession is time consuming, will require your full energy and attention but if you are clear that this is something you really wish to do, you will definitely find your way.”
She further adds, “The best advice I’ve ever received is ‘never let fame get to your head and never let criticism get to your heart’. I follow this all the time. You have to detach yourself after a point of time. You have to give your best on stage and then forget about it. Learn from it and move forward.”
Aarushi loves cooking and trying out new recipes; travelling and knowing the history of a place and around. She also loves designing clothes. According to her, she always designs the costumes of her plays. She shares, “It is other interesting part of my career. I keep in mind the nature of the character, their presence, the economic status of the character they are portraying, the era that the play is showing. Keeping all this in mind, the colours are chosen, the fabric is chosen and the designs are made. I do that all by myself and enjoy doing it.”
She adds, “I also design many of the clothes I wear. I like to experiment a lot with colours and fabrics.”
Talking about the mass that idolizes this young achiever, Aarushi expresses, “It is overwhelming that women and young girls consider me their youth icon or idol; that empowers me. I also understand that with that empowerment, comes responsibility to do better work and the urge to never let them down.”
According to Aarushi, women in our state are strong willed and very talented. She says, “I see nothing but greatness ahead of them, succeeding in all aspects of life. “
Aarushi’s words to other women out there are, “We need to break the stereotypes that every girl cries over a chipped nail. We are all strong and we have got it all sorted, mind, career and family. Girls can balance all.”
She further adds, “Never get discouraged by their surroundings and people, be focused and love whatever you put your energy and time into. Be determined and success shall follow.”
So apparently, even if a girl is graceful, she has her own fights and she can give a tough one. Back to where we started, who got punched down? Well, many stereotypes got knocked out in the journey of this girl.
Updated On 3/21/2018 4:39:24 PM
Updated On 3/21/2018 8:50:59 PM
Updated On 3/21/2018 8:54:10 PM