Lillete Dubey is one of the most powerful actresses of the Hindi film industry. You will not believe that he entered the world of acting with ‘Zubaida’ at the age of 46. Her father was against working in films, so despite getting the offer, she could not debut then.
Lillete Dubey, a well-known name in the world of theatre, considers herself an accidental actress. Although this actress has been in the theater world for 50 years, she made her debut in films at the age of 46 with Zubaida. Lillet, who was a part of many meaningful films like ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’, ‘Monsoon Wedding’, ‘Pinjar’, is in the news these days for her tele play ‘Womanly Voices and Dance Like a Man’. A meeting with him. Recently Lillete Dubey celebrated her 71st birthday. She says, ‘I don’t think much about my birthday. But on my anniversary last year, when I turned 70, it was celebrated with great pomp. There was a celebration for three days. Apart from Mumbai, we also celebrated it in Alibaug.
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Celebrated anniversary peacefully this year
She further says, ‘My daughters made a very lovely film about me, in which I was discussed with all my friends. I also took bites from my fellow Hollywood actors like Richard Gere. Such colleagues and actors were included in that film, whom I had not even expected. There was a lot of fun, dancing, singing and dancing. This year I celebrated my anniversary very peacefully. I have two little nieces, who are twins. She is more excited about my birthday. My only thought on my birthday is that I should always remain active in the field of theater and acting.
I lost my voice, but pretended
In the world of dramas we always have to be prepared for the situation when the show must go on. Regarding one such situation, she says, ‘During the rehearsal of a play, my voice was completely lost. I consulted the doctor but it did not work. The doctor said that American President John Kennedy often suffered from loss of voice in his throat after giving continuous speeches, then he had to be given injections of steroids.
Performed drama even after getting badly injured on leg
She says, ‘Well, only 5-6 days were left. I was worried. The doctor asked me to observe a fast of complete silence. In those days, I used to communicate by writing notes at home and at rehearsals. Despite that, when the day of the show came, I pretended to have the mic close to my mouth. I had severe pain in my throat and my voice was coming out only 20 percent, yet the show must go on. Once acted on stage in the play ‘Hamlet’ despite having a badly injured leg. Many times he acted despite having fever and feeling unwell.
Father did not want me to work in films
Lillet started her film career very late. She says, ‘I may have started late in films, but I started in plays 50 years ago with Barry John’s Theater Action Group. When I was twenty-two years old, I was beautiful and talented and it is not that I did not get offers from big filmmakers from Bollywood.
At that time the entire emphasis was on studies
She says, ‘I also got offers for good projects, but because I was from a different environment. My father was an engineer and mother a gynecologist, so my father refused as soon as he heard that I would not work in films. At that time his entire emphasis was on my studies. He was also not happy with my arts and theatre. Even fifty years ago, films were not considered good for girls.
‘Zubaida’ film at the age of 46
Lillet said, ‘Although directors like Shyam Babu (Shyam Benegal) brought the trend of parallel cinema, my family was not ready for me to go into films. Later, I did good work in serials on Doordarshan and satellite channels, but yes, I started late in films. I got married and when my husband was posted in Mumbai, I did my first film ‘Zubaida’ at the age of 46. It was very unusual for a woman to start her career in films at the age of 46. This role was also offered to me from the front. Shyam Babu called, I liked the role. I never went to any producer for a role. I was happy in my theater and raising my daughters.
Tele plays bring dramas to more audiences
Regarding her drama journey, she says, ‘I started my theater company in 1991, at that time actors like Manoj Bajpayee also got associated with the drama. At that time I wanted to translate the writings of Indian writers into plays. This is the time when I was reading women-oriented content, so when the outline for the direction of Womanly Voices was made, I took three Indian women writers. Mahasweta Devi’s ‘Shishu’, Wajida Tabassum’s ‘Uttaran’ and Geeta Mehta’s ‘The Teacher’s Story’ were selected.
‘Mohan Agashe and my actress daughter Ira Dubey are also with me.’
She says, ‘We all know about Wajida and how there has been a lot of noise about her stories. All these stories amplify the voices of women. Now we have many plays as tele plays on Zee Theatre, ‘Aadhe Adhure’, ‘Dance Like a Man’ and ‘Womanly Voices’. Mohan Agashe and my actress daughter Ira Dubey are also with me in ‘Adhe Adhure’. This play was very popular and now after being shown as a tele play on Zee Theatre, it has got a huge audience.
Theater is a world that lives in the public memory
Lillet said, ‘Our plays ‘Kanyadan’ and ‘Dance Like a Man’ have also received very good response as tele plays. In the world of plays, we never used to do recording before. The world of theater is a world which remains in public memory, but for the last 15 years, we have started recording plays also and now the audience is able to watch them in the form of tele plays on Zee Theatre. I believe that no one can compete with live plays, but through this medium, plays are able to reach more people and they will now exist as documentation forever.