Shilpi Marwaha

Shilpi Marwaha[1] is one of the most well known names in the Delhi Theatre Circuit, having worked as a theatre artist and activist for the past decade.[2] She gained prominence through her activism through street theatre during the "anti corruption movement" in Delhi and the protests held at Rastrapati Bhawan, where she took the forefront in raising her voice against the horrific 2012 Delhi Gang Rape case also known as the "Nirbhaya" or "Damini" case.[3] She has also worked in mainstream cinema in the Bollywood film, Raanjhanaa as Rashmi, Abhay Deol's sister, directed by Anand L. Rai in 2013 [4], Bhoomiyude Avakashikal (The Inheritors of the Earth), directed by T. V. Chandran, "Widow of Silence" as Aasiya directed by Praveen Morchhale[5] in 2018 and "Chhapaak" directed by Meghna Gulzar in 2020. She has been awarded first Sarla Birla Award and AAS Excellence Award 2016 for her active participation in women empowerment initiatives.[6][7]

Shilpi Marwaha
Shilpi Marwaha
Born
New Delhi
OccupationWriter, Theatre and Cinema Actor, Theatre Director
Years active2007-present
AwardsSarla Birla Award, AAS Excellence Award 2016, DCW Achievement Award 2016

Personal life and background

Shilpi lost her mother at the tender age of 8. As a single child, she has fought at every stage of life. Shilpi was born and brought up in Delhi and studied for her Masters in Commerce from Kamla Nehru College, University of Delhi. She was active in campus theatre. She did many street and stage plays in DU.[8]

Acting in Theatre

Marwaha started her career as a theatre actor in Delhi with Asmita Theatre Group. She got trained under theatre director Arvind Gaur. She participated in his theatre workshop in college. Marwaha has worked with Asmita Theatre group for 12 years,[9] and was a core member, coordinating theatre workshops and directing workshop plays.[10]

Her major plays are Dario Fo and Franca Rame's A Woman Alone, Bertolt Brecht's Ramkali (The Good Person of Szechwan), Mahesh Dattani's Final Solutions and 30 days in September, Girish Karnad's Rakt Kalyan, Swadesh Deepak's Court Martial, Rajesh Kumar's Ambedkar aur Gandhi, Mohan Rakesh's Lehro ke Rajhans, Ashok Lal's Ek Mamooli Aadmi, Unsuni (based on Harsh Mandar's book & scripted by Mallika Sarabhai), Vijay Mishra's “Tat Niranjana“, Dario Fo's adaptation Operation Three Star, based on Accidental death of an anarchist, Govind Purushottam Deshpande's Raastey, Dario Fo's Can't Pay won't Pay (Hindi adaptation by Amitabh Srivastava) and Mahesh Bhatt's The Last Salute, written by Rajesh Kumar.[11] Shilpi has also worked with RJ Raunac on dramatic reading of Asghar Wajahat's stories.[12]

Apart from acting, she has penned five stories, namely, "Apratyaksh", a love story of a eunuch, "Kaash", an intercaste love saga, "Purity" on the slut-shaming tendencies of society and "Rangmanch", elucidating the struggles involved in the life of an aspiring actor trying to fulfil his dream and “Asifa” on child abuse. All these stories have been staged for audience in Delhi.[13]“Ehsaas” a solo act written and performed by Shilpi showcases a young girl's struggle to express her love and desire for other women.[14][15]

Shilpi was also a part of the national award-winning documentary film Daughters of Mother India[16] and has worked with oscar award-winning director Ross Kaufman. She won the best actress award in 2010 in the “International short and sweet festival”.

She participated in theatre workshops in various colleges in Delhi and outside including Delhi University, IIT and IIM and has judged numbers of events on stage and street plays in different colleges & universities across the nation.[17][18][19]

Street Theatre

Shilpi Marwaha performed thousands of street plays in Delhi NCR and other states, based on social issues—like Corruption, Women empowerment, Environment, Road-rage, Anti-Ragging, LGBTQ, Communal harmony, Female foeticide Child education, Mental Health, Gender equality, Domestic violence, Child labour, Poverty, Drugs,  Inter-faith etc. Dastak – written and conceptualized by Shilpi herself, is the biggest hit and has been performed over thousand shows across India. Marwaha is also active in Social Awareness movement. She actively participated in women's safety movement to raise voice for domestic workers and in anti-corruption movement etc.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]

Starting Theatre Group

In the year 2016, Shilpi faced sexual harassment at workplace from the director of theatre group where she worked for 12 years after which she walked out from the group and was joined by other senior actors who decided to leave the group.

Shilpi started Sukhmanch Theatre in March 2017 in the memory of her late mother whose name "Sukhvarsha" inspired the name of the group and her endeavor to promote theatrical arts. She is currently working as creative head and director of the group.[27][28]

Major Directions

Filmography
gollark: Did you know?
gollark: We have not yet been able to dump their memories and find out what the bugs are.
gollark: 6_4 only discloses them to a swarm of uncommunicative bees.
gollark: Or it's just still not fixed.
gollark: Maybe they actually did break Mojang accounts. Worrying.

References
  1. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/a-brave-new-narrative-715239
  2. Aakriti Sawhney (1 March 2011). "Playing up the action-The faces from Delhi". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  3. Dipanita Nath (6 November 2011). "Woman in Black". The Indian Express. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  4. "Dhanush, Anand L. Rai to again team up in 2014". The Times of India. 8 June 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  5. Rosario, Kennith (11 June 2020). "'Widow of Silence' movie review: A quiet but telling portrait of a half-widow". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  6. "AAS Excellence Awards 2016: Of celebrating womanhood, promoting social causes and rewarding success". nationnext. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  7. "'बेटी ही बचाएगी' अभियान शुरू, शिल्पी मारवाह को सरला बिरला अवार्ड" (in Hindi). Retrieved 8 November 2017.
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  10. "जो थिएटर से सीखा उसे फिल्म में लगाउंगीः शिल्पी मारवाह" [Whomsoever has learned from theatre will also be involved in films]. AmarUjala (in Hindi). New Delhi. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
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