Bengaluru: Chutzpah, written by Bengaluru-based playwright Sharmin Ali was a huge hit with audiences on Friday night at Chowdaiah. However, the week has not been without its share of hurdles for the 26-year-old.
“A group of right-wing activists took offence to the play's title, ‘Chutzpah’, a Hebrew word meaning audacity. They mis-pronounced it, taking it to mean a vulgar word in Hindi ch@@#**. They thought I was doing something illegitimate, that was against Indian culture,” said Ali, after the performance on Friday.
The word also gained recent notoriety when used liberally by Shahid Kapoor, playing the eponymous Haider in Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of Hamlet.
“They said they would destroy my career if I didn’t listen to them," she said. “I told them I didn't care and that if they had a problem, to show up at the venue. I even offered them free tickets!” Sharmin also posted the issue on Facebook, which led to a number of responses – enough to subdue the protesters.
The play was staged on Friday night, after the group received a no objection certificate from the police. “I told the people who threatened me that they could come to the venue and ban me because I'm unstoppable!” Now that's what we call chutzpah!
