Famous and feisty, but who is Mallika Sarabhai when the lights go off?

She may have come from an illustrious family, but Sarabhai is also an acclaimed dancer, an alumnus of IIMA, a celebrated intellectual, a fearless supporter of human rights, a fighter who took on LK Advani in an election and famous on the international stage as none other than Draupadi in Peter Brook’s play ‘Mahabharata’.

Then, a few years ago, came Sarabhai’s book, ‘In Free Fall: My Experiments with Living’, and one of the first secrets she shares with her readers is that she was an overweight child who was mercilessly bullied for eating. As the chapters progress, Sarabhai keeps unravelling herself –- her 30-year obsession with being thin; her first encounter with cigarettes and alcohol, the treatments she has undergone, from Pranic healing to colour therapy, how she depends on beauty regimens to future-proof her body, and her experiences with her daughter being gay.

Pawar and his troupe, working on Sarabhai’s writings from the book, are focussing on communicating her personal accomplishments,milestones and vulnerabilities–- to reveal a new kind of celebrity that every person who has struggled to express themselves will relate to.

“She very candidly talks about how she never liked dancing. Everything that you know about her is very contrasting with what she tells in the book. And, she is not explaining her choices or, even once, saying, “Oh, I felt sorry,”‘ says Pawar, who uses Bharatanatyam and contemporary movements for the evening.

The show starts with Sarabhai reading from the book and transitions to a performance by the troupe of dancers. It is only the last section of the performance that Sarabhai comes back on stage talking about her personal life and journey before taking questions from the audience.