Darr – Monologue performed by Urmi (TG rights activist). This piece is based on her real life experience.
On the evening of the rehearsals, we were told Urmi was having second thoughts about performing. We were quite upset by this because we had been really looking forward to seeing her take up the stage. With some tough love and encouragement from Pallav Patankar, Urmi changed her mind again and performed for us. Her talk about the challenges of being a transgender in Bombay was deeply emotional and moving. For a crowd that couldn’t shut up during a single performance, it is a reflection of Urmi’s gravitas that they all went completely silent during her monologue. She was deeply apologetic and almost embarrassed for being ‘serious’ when all the other performances had been light-hearted. This only added to her charm, of course.
