Final Solution

As the world is echoing with slogans on #blacklivesmatter and as the society is exploring its privileges, its morals, and its character these reverberations of 2020 take me back to 2013 on the sets of this play called "The Final Solution" written by Mahesh Dattani.

The story unfolds in a quaint town where a riot takes two Muslim boys to take shelter at a Hindu family's home, the drama brings to surface the inner conflicts and wounds of every character.

The picture above summarizes the frustration of a minority and the stereotyping by the majority. But the process of rehearsals created nothing but empathy in me, empathy not only with the oppressed but also for the so-called oppressor. We all go through different upbringings, different value systems, different life events which shape our beliefs and attitudes. Nobody wakes up in the morning looks in the mirror and says I will be a bad person today, but our version of good can be disastrous for the other.

 As an actor empathy is the only tool to deep dive into the character and the context of the character, same goes for the series of conflicts going around us today. 2020 seems to have locked us up with our thoughts and given us a chance to revaluate our lives and the starting point of these introspections could be empathy.

Forgive others, forgive yourselves. Start afresh.

PS - If you get a chance, do order a copy of this play - shorturl.at/hkyT5