Madhurima Tuli on multilingual teleplays

Madhurima Tuli is no stranger to fans of daily soaps and has also worked in reality shows and blockbuster films such as ‘Baby’, ‘Naam Shabana’, ‘Saththaa’ (Telugu),‘Maarichaa’ (Kannada and Tamil) and Nimbehuli (Kannada). The actor who has also starred in the Hollywood film ‘The Black Prince’ was thrilled when her Hindi teleplay ‘Surya Ki Antim Kiran Se Surya Ki Pehli Kiran Tak’ was translated into Kannada and Telugu. As she says, “This classic has been so well appreciated over the decades. Let’s hope that the translated teleplay will also connect with audiences in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. In fact, I’m sure it will because the concept is so different.”

Veteran litterateur and playwright Surendra Verma’s period drama ‘Surya Ki Antim Kiran Se Surya Ki Pehli Kiran Tak’ has struck a chord with generations of audiences. The story revolving around the ancient practice of ‘niyog’ outlines the dilemma of Queen Sheelavati when she is compelled to choose a man other than her husband in order to conceive a child. Describing her own journey with the character of the conflicted queen, Madhurima says, “It was important to make this character believable because it is so different. Her situation is not normal in today’s context so I tried to relate to her. I tried to think how I would react if something like this happened. That approach helped me to play this part.”

Discussing if the play would resonate with today’s audiences, she says, “The theme is drawn from history and even though ‘Niyog’ does not happen today and there are options like adoption, the teleplay familiarises audiences with a certain epoch from the past and will engage the audience.”

About the increasing popularity of multilingual content, she says, “ Now that Zee Theatre has translated this play in Telugu and Kannada, I am sure it will reach a wider audience and help them to connect with theatre. Translating the teleplay in two different languages is a win-win situation for theatre exponents and the audiences.”

She also enjoyed exploring the teleplay format and says, “Well, this was my first time working in a teleplay and it was great fun. Theater teaches so much to an actor and I learnt a lot from this format as well as it was a mixture of cinema and theatre. This is a great platform for any actor to portray roles with substance.”

Directed by Ishan Trivedi, this Zee Theatre teleplay also stars Rajat Kaul and Rocky. Watch it on 4th August at TataPlay Theatre.