Actor Geetika Tyagi has played diverse roles in shows like ‘Jo Kahunga Sach Kahunga’, ‘Powder’ and ‘City Of Dreams’ but working in director Purva Naresh’s acclaimed teleplay ‘Ok Tata Bye Bye’ was an enlightening experience for her. Says Geetika, “It is hard to find stories where women from different backgrounds are represented as equals and decisively lead the narrative but ‘Ok Tata Bye Bye’ is an exception. On the surface, it is about two very different women. My character Pooja wants to document a sex worker’s life but has a lot of preconceptions about a profession she considers to be shameful. Slowly however she realises that when women make choices with a sense of agency, nobody has the right to judge them and then her world-view changes radically.”
Talking about working with Prerna Chawla who plays a spunky sex worker, Geetika says, “We both portray characters for completely different milieus but at some point, realise that we are not as different as we seem. Purva, our director also helped us gain a deep insight into sex work and made us face our own prejudices about women who sell their bodies to make a living. My co-star Jim Sarbh was thankfully a pillar of support in what was indeed a very challenging creative journey.”
Geetika is appreciative of the fact that Zee Theatre is highlighting powerful narratives about women in their Shakti Mahotsav celebrations and says, “It is still not exactly easy for women to live and work just the way they want and we need more spaces where they can stand in their power and do not have to play small constantly. Purva is one of the most important story-tellers of our time because she etches female characters that are not compliant and weak but unique, complex and with a strong sense of self. It has been truly a remarkable experience to work in this teleplay.”
The play also stars Sarika Singh and will be aired on Airtel Spotlight and Dish TV & D2H Rangmanch.
