Sushmaa Roshan Ahuja

Theatre aficionado Sushmaa Roshan Ahuja was in a flurry during this interview. Her latest play Doctor Sukhi, Mareez Dukhi, an adaptation of 17^th century French playwright, Moliere’s The Doctor in Spite of Himself, was due for release in Chennai within a fortnight. Founder, Producer, Director, Scriptwriter, Adapter, et al, Sushmaa helms THE (Tamil, Hindi, English) Theatrewalas, a new–age theatre group, formed in 2022.

She is currently working on 12 Angry Men with 14 actors. “First and foremost, I look for relatability, what connects with me, when selecting a movie or a play for a Hindi adaptation. All stories or human emotions are universal… only the location and names are different. It has been such an enjoyable journey — entering France and turning it into Faridabad!”

Sushmaa introduces, “our family has been deeply involved with theatre and films. Met my co-star, future husband quite by chance on New Year’s eve in 1968 when I was offered a small role in Mr. Abhimanyu. Since then, he has been the backbone of all my theatre activities. Our theatre journey together has been as long as our own relationship and continues to grow stronger every day.”

The Ahujas’ lives, since the past 55+ years, have constantly been about “plays, movies, scripts, rehearsals, theatre workshops etc. With an atmosphere like this, how could our three children stay untouched by this profession? Sourabh, Richa and Suhaas discovered their own passion for theatre, at an early age and continue their stage acting. They have performed in many plays, not just with me, but also with numerous theatre groups.”

In her theatrical repertoire, adaptations of famous global dramas stand out. Sushmaa elaborates, “I love to do adaptations. To me, it is like making other’s worlds mine. Have borrowed and adapted works of reputed names like Moliere, Roald Dahl, O’ Henry and Carlo Goldoni among others. A favourite was a Jewish story Der Milch Maan by Sholem Aleichem, which was later adapted as O’Neeli Chatri Wale. The musical inspired by Fiddler on the Roof was staged in Madras (Chennai) in 1988 with a cast and crew of 40, and received accolades from both the public and media.

After a good theatre career during the late 1960s through 1970s in Delhi, Sushmaa and Sudhir moved to Madras in 1978. Sushmaa took along a host of magnificent memories and a heart and head full of experience to this part of India where her mother tongue, Hindi, was considered an alien language. Taking the challenge, started Abhyuday, an amateur Hindi theatre group. Abhyuday’s presentations snowballed, attracting Madras Hindi theatre-starved audiences almost bereft of this form of entertainment.

Abhyuday entertained with Knjoos Makkhichoos, Bakree and other titles. Phandi was staged at the All India Theatre Festival under the auspices of the Trade Fair Authority of India. To their credit goes the fact that they staged three different genres of plays — satire, musical and semi-tragedy — performing the maximum number of plays with a common cast and one director — Sushmaa Roshan Ahuja. The honour bestowed on them was made even greater while sharing stage with the 1980s stalwarts — Sai Paranjpe, Satyadev Dubey, Shamanand Jalan, BV Karanth and the NSD. 

Delving into her distant past, Sushmaa, already an A grade voice with All India Radio (AIR), New Delhi, and on the National Certified Circuit, recollects working with her generation of legendaries like Om Puri, Raj Babbar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Pankaj Kapoor, and Sushma Seth among others, and of course Sudhir Ahuja.

On the stage, Sushmaa moved from one unforgettable role to another, beginning with a major part in the Punjabi play Gallan Pyaar Diyan. She continued freelancing with the Little Theatre Group (LTG). Was in Utpal Dutt’s Chayanat, a satire on the film industry. Roles which got her noticed by critics and theatregoers were as the lead in the stylised play, the Hindi adaptation and translation, Serai ke Malkin, based on an Italian comedy Mine Hostess. A step up was her role as Marjeena in Alibaba. Numerour title and lead female roles folled including in Yasmin and Mitro Marjani.

The role of Marjina in Ali Baba required an actress who could act, sing and dance. Sushmaa proved herself in all three fields. Next was as Yasmin based on the Spanish tragedy YERMA by Lorca, with Raj Babbar opposite her in the Punjabi musical adaptation followed by Habib Tanveer’s Sutradhar, and multifarious notable roles. 

Sushmaa did not have any professional training in dramatics. She feels “I lacked something not having studied stagecraft. Fortunately, formed good working relationships with students and professors of Delhi’s National School of Drama (NSD), and during discussions imbibed theatrical knowledge.”

During her tenure with Delhi Art Theatre (DAT), Sushmaa recounts, “Founder Sheila Bhatia made me aware of music in speech and voice modulation. It was a significant learning experience.”

In Madras, after a sabbatical when her third child Suhaas was born, Sushmaa’s A Grade Voice from AIR was in great demand for Hindi dubbing assignments, including the pilot track for Rati Agnihotri in Ek Dujehe Ke Liye, and for Jaya Prada in Lok Parlok. This was the start of a career covering over 200 dubbed films in a span of 25 years.

“My breakthrough came thanks to Sri LV Prasad, founder of Prasad Productions where I joined as Assistant Director. Another experience was assisting Singeetham Srinivas Rao during Pushpak, and assisting Balu Mahendra with brushing up the script’s dialogues for Sadma.”    

A great cast movie, Pyaar Mein Twist, starring Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Farida Jalal came next in 2006 with Sushmaa as a story, screenplay and dialogue writer. 2008 showcased her short film Der Na Hojaye as the official selection at the Barcelona Short Films Festival.

The Ahuja family comprises oldest son Sourabh, still pursuing his love for writing. Daughter Richa, a trained actor, has performed in Chennai, Delhi and Paris. She acted in Ziddi and Uyirodu Uyiraga (Tamil). She currently works as a Creative Theatre Director at the Krishnamurthy Foundation International (KFI) school in Ojai, USA. Richa’s daughter, Ananya Badami, is studying Drama Major from Strasberg Institute at NYU Tisch. Suhaas is a known name in Mumbai as a musician-owner of his own Suhaas Ahuja Band, writer, director, actor and much-in-demand model in the advertising world. His films and serials include Talaash, Out of Love, Married Woman, POW and Archies etc.

Both Ahuja daughters-in-law are art designers for movies, advertising and theatre. Sapna has her fashion jewelry brand ESMERALDA. Shruti has been an art director and production designer for movies like Lunchbox, Sitaare Zameen Pe, Khoobsurat, Ayesha and Photograph etc.

Sushmaa Roshan Ahuja sums up her life,“Since my childhood, I have had only one dream — to sing, dance and act, and make audiences happy with my performances. Today, that dream has become a reality. I am living with so many likeminded people who are involved in my dream… comprising my immediate family, and strangers who have now become my extended family.”

And ends — “On a serious note, the need of the hour is for more people, corporate houses and philanthropists to step forward to promote theatre in India. Only passion and enthusiasm is not enough for the growth and progression of theatre. Now, though the family is busy in their respective professions and lives, I value their support and encouragement which has been my biggest strength… and I wish to continue with my theatre journey forever.”