STAGING THE FIGHT

SIMPLY The privileged,

league of men in Mumbai who refuse to shy away from the tag of being feminists, something a number of women in the spotlight have shied away from recently because of the damning connotation it seems to have. Not to be confused with the “ball-busting” variety, these men are strong believers of gender equality and are ashamed at how little things

Nhave changed for women in the country. In 2013, Neha Singh and Devina Kapoor inspired by the Sameera Khan, Shilpa Phadke and Shilpa Ranade book began organising events encouraging

Director, Chaarpaai women to take claim over public spaces. Puranik wanted to join in, but was told these events were just for women. “What if I came dressed as a woman,” he asked. And that’s what led to their event ‘Walk Like a Woman’ where almost 20 men cross-dressed and walked from Prithvi Theatre to Juhu Beach. This year, on International Women’s Day, Puranik staged his documentarystyle play as part of the NCPA Edge Festival. “It is about women in public spaces, but it goes beyond that. I feel women’s issues aren’t just women’s issues. They affect men as well as other minorities. We’re carrying generations of violence on our shoulders; both the oppressed as well the ones who are oppressing,” says Puranik. With seven women and five men as part of the play, Puranik has tried to fairly represent those who are vulnerable in terms of caste, religion, gender or disability. “People might say it is just a play, but the point is to sensitise men towards women’s issues,” says Ghose. His play which premiered earlier this month, is a collection of four stories. One of them has actress Manvi Ranghar acting out a rape scene. “To avoid titillation, the scene is enacted by the actress alone in complete darkness. Women are akin to the feeling of being looked at in a way that they feel raped just by a glance. But men have no idea,” says Ghose. He also comments on censorship, masculinity and the