Srijana Subba turning director with ‘Yuma’

Kathmandu / May 14: In the 10 years that she’s been associated with Nepali theater, Srijana Subba has created a name for herself with well-received roles in plays like ‘Maila.com,’ ‘Charandas Chor,’ ‘Miss Julie,’ and ‘Vagina Monologues’ among others. Many also remember her for her stint as ‘Putali’ in ‘Loot.’ Recently, she was also nominated in the Best Actress in a Feature category at the Queens World Film Festival for her role in the yet-to-release film ‘Dying Candle.’
After a decade of honing her skills as an actor and impressing the audiences with her talent, Srijana is all set to launch her career as a director. She is currently busy in the rehearsals of her first ever directorial venture ‘Yuma,’ of which she is also playing the titular role.
The actor-turned-director talked about her directorial venture.

What is ‘Yuma’ about?
It is based on a Limbu tradition according to which Yuma, a female goddess, is worshipped before any other deities. Writer Yug Pathak has adapted the story of Yuma in the contemporary context, so you can say that it has a lot of feminist elements to it.

Since you’re debuting as a director, how has the experience been so far?
It’s not been easy, to say the least. As an actor, I just had to make sure I knew my lines well and that I did justice to my character. But as a director, besides ensuring that the actors know what they’re doing, I have to make sure the set is well designed, the lighting is effective, and the costumes suit the story and characters. On the other hand, I’d especially requested Yug Pathak to work on the story for me. He’s debuting as a playwright through ‘Yuma,’ too, so I have to make sure that I don’t disappoint him, either.

We’ve been rehearsing up to six hours every day, and since I’m also playing the central role, there’s this extra pressure on me. It’s the support from fellow artistes that has kept me upbeat and motivated.
While the theater culture has been flourishing, we don’t yet see many female central characters in dramas. Female directors are rare, too. What’s your take on this?
Couple of months back, in the course of updating my CV, I realized that I have already done more than 20 plays—which is actually a lot, but I had been the central character in only about five of them. This got me thinking. While I’ve always wanted to direct plays, this particular realization made me actually act on it and help promote stronger female leads in plays. ‘Yuma’ is my first conscious attempt toward that goal.

Tell us about your future plans.
Theater will remain my priority number one. You will also see me in couple of films.

‘Yuma’ will be staged at
Mandala Theater in Anamnagar from May 20 to June 13. Source: Myrepublica