Around Town: A play on Jinnah’s wife and South Bombay’s pride Ruttie

The 120-minute Gujarati play premieres on March 26 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

So when this sought-after barely 16-year-old Parsi girl fell in love with a Muslim barrister and a growing political leader of that time, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who was also a widower and only three years younger than her father, it surely raised more than a few eyebrows. However, none could stop Ruttie from getting married to Jinnah, which also saw her converting from the Parsi Zoroastrian faith to Islam, causing uproar in both the communities — Parsis and Muslims. She was subsequently excommunicated from her community and even disowned by her own family.

“She wasn’t like any other woman — she was bold,” says Manek, who had spent her entire lockdown researching about Ruttie and placing it in the context of the political scenario of that time as well as the social fabrication that existed. “She is known for being impulsive but she was equally sensitive and compassionate. She once went to Kamathipura to help the women living there,” notes the writer.

A fashion icon, Ruttie was also deeply interested in politics, which was one of the reasons that attracted her to Jinnah, shares Manek, adding, “She had that flame inside her to do something for the country, to be a part of the freedom movement.”

The play also has some interesting anecdotes like Jinnah was a converted Muslim and wanted to pursue a career in acting (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Unfortunately, Ruttie tragically died in 1929 at the mere age of 29, much before India got independence and her estranged husband became the first Governor-General of Pakistan. The last few years of her life also saw her being unhappy in her marriage, neglecting daughter Dina, turning to theosophy and experimenting with drugs.

“Her life was short but was very interesting,” points out actor Bhamini Oza Gandhi, who plays Ruttie in the play, adding, “She was too young, cheerful and naive but her thoughts were very progressive… for her humanity was sacrosanct and religion was no bar.”

Interestingly, the 120-minute Gujarati play which premieres this Sunday at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and aims at putting forth Ruttie’s colourful life started as a monologue. “Having done a couple of monologues that saw men (like Mohan No Masalo starring Pratik Gandhi), we were looking at doing a one-woman play and Ruttie was too interesting to explore,” says Shah, adding, “But when we started working on it, something was amiss, so we brought in Jinnah. Still unconvinced, we had to add a few more characters, including Ruttie’s parents, Jinnah’s sister Fatima and his and Ruttie’s friend Kanji Dwarkadas.” The play is also Shah’s bid to pay a tribute to Parsee theatre.

Want more? The play also has some interesting anecdotes like Jinnah was a converted Muslim and wanted to pursue a career in acting; he became a barrister at the insistence of his father. One can’t help but wonder how history would have been if he had actually pursued acting. Well, perhaps that’s fodder for another play.

WHEN: March 26, 7 PM

PRICE: Rs 500 onwards

TO BOOK: ncpamumbai.com, bookmyshow.com