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Kavita Kaushik: I used to change two-three buses from Ghaziabad to North Campus

Hindustan Times | By, New Delhi
May 20, 2019 12:12 PM IST

Actor Kavita Kaushik recalls her student days at DU’s IP College, and her latest play.

Kavita Kaushik aka Chandramukhi Chautala — her most popular role on the tube — is not just a firebrand in reel life. We caught up with the actor, who will next be seen in a play titled Pajama Party, which is doing rounds in Mumbai and Delhi, this and the next month.

“I never got a chance to do theatre, although I got a lot of offers beech mein. F.I.R (TV show) was loved by everyone, and I played so many characters. A lot of people knew that I was interested in playing different characters on stage as well,” she says.

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While the city of Mumbai has given the actor everything— work, a house and the love of her life, Delhi holds a special place in her heart. “I am a sampoorna bhartiya. As my father was in the CRPF, he got transferred a lot and our family never stayed in one place for more than a couple of years,” says the actor, who pursued her graduation in Philosophy from Indraprastha College for Women in Delhi.

“I graduated in 2002 and that’s when I went to Mumbai. I had auditioned for Ekta Kapoor’s production house in Delhi only. Delhi is my first love because I started my journey of becoming a person, choosing a path and building a career, here. I used to change two-three buses from Ghaziabad to North Campus. This was everyday. Sometimes, Delhi border pe jaane ke liye sharing wale autos lene padte the. Kuch log apni murgiyaan le ke baitha karta the,” she laughs while recalling.

 

Ask her if she was involved in theatre during her time here in the city vis-à-vis watching or participating, and she shares, “For me, to experience more things, get to know about theatre or to watch plays, was difficult because I was doing the basic — trying to figure out the struggles of travelling and keeping myself safe while going to college. I was totally by myself. Itne time se main bhi yeh soochti hoon ki kitna time I have wasted. I had so many opportunities to learn while I was in Delhi but I couldn’t as I was most worried about my safety. I had to come before sunset, in an uncrowded bus because I didn’t want to get groped.”

In her latest play — Pajama Party — she plays the role of a struggling actor. Directed by Atul Satya Kaushik, it follows the stories of four girlfriends, and today’s digital age and the subsequent dynamics of relationships form its premise. “The play captures their lives, journey, ambition and struggle. They are going to have a party and a crazy incident happens and how they deal with it in a different and honest manner, and its repercussions [forms the crux of the play]. The play talks about how women can react to injustice and harassment in today’s day and age and a solution can be found,” says the Vadhayiyaan Ji Vadhayiyaan (2018) actor, explaining the narrative.

Mention how friendship and stories of bond between women seem to be the flavour of the season with several digital shows and movies taking to it and she opines, “Yeh toh achi baat hai. Abhi tak we’ve only seen male bonding. In today’s time, with the whole wave of feminism, #MeToo, women speaking up and women trying to fight back is a nice thing.

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