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Cross-cultural stew
There was a time when an Asian actor would have been more than happy with his two bits on telly. The corner shop owner demanding ‘Two pound seventeeh phleaze’ or the Sardar Ji from Mind Your Language with his ‘Thousand apologies’ was more than adequate to round up London’s South Asian community.
But then, somewhere along the line it all changed. Actors and writers like Meera Syal, Hanif Kureishi, Gurinder Chadha and Art Malik made their way into mainstream media and pushed their talent. Their work demanded appreciation of cultural difference rather than ignorance. A new wave of diversity swept through Britain, of which actress and playwright Suddha Bucher was part of.
It was a rare, warm afternoon in South London. After failing to find the location, I had visions of an angry Suddha walking out on me. But when I got there, not exactly what one would call fashionably late, there stood a calm and collected lady who, in true British fashion, was busy fiddling with her mobile.
Clad in slim fitted trousers and a navy shirt, with hair pulled back in a Spanish bun, Suddha hardly looked the 30-plus Asian woman whose rights she has championed in her writing. Mother of two boys and author of several plays, Suddha is one of the pioneer British Asian artists. She started as an actor but turned to writing simply because there wasn’t enough work for Asian actors.
Another interesting facet about her was her ‘outside the community’ marriage — a cause of much celebration and criticism in her writings and plays. Suddha is married to a British Pakistani, Asif. Her real-life drama inspired a recent hit musical Strictly Dandia, in which a Hindu girl and Muslim boy get together despite the family’s disapproval over religious differences. Her other Pakistani connection is a plan to put together a show in London with a Pakistani theatre company.
Born in India, raised in Africa and then Britain, how did she define herself?
“Well, I’m from a Punjabi background. I was born in India. My father was an economics teacher who migrated from India to Africa to teach. We followed naturally. But the tensions in Uganda soon created uncertainty, which led to the move to England. I’m comfortable with the term ‘British Asian.’ It sums up the complexities of identity.”
How is she different from Suddha the actress?
“As a child I was very shy and self-conscious. When I stepped into acting, I felt my inhibitions melt away. At the sake of sounding clichéd, I felt that acting gave me a voice. While the actress in me is confident and gregarious, I’m a bit of an introvert in real life.”
As is often the case with Asians who take up the performing arts as a profession, did she face much opposition from her family due to her career choice?
“My parents were different from the norm. They encouraged individuality and creativity. Sadly, my father passed away quite early and wasn’t there to see what profession I chose. My mother, being a single parent, had little energy left at the end of the day to stop us sisters from pursuing our interests. She never discouraged me even though there have been some very sad moments when she felt I was wasting my degree.
Now that I’m a parent myself, I can see why you don’t want your children to get into acting. You want security for them. I’ve got two boys but I’m sure if they came up and said ‘we want to be actors,’ I would say to myself ‘Oh my God, don’t do it!’ simply because of the uncertainty of the profession.”
Being on stage is looked down upon in Asian culture, says Suddha. “But if you are hugely successful, then the community can’t get enough of you. On the other hand, if you don’t make it, you’re not just another struggling actor, you’re the one that went astray,” she remarked.
Is this attitude changing with more young Asians entering the field?
“I think it is to an extent. People are more open to creative arts as a profession. There is less pressure on young Asians to be only doctors and engineers. But having said that, it still has a long way to go before this barrier can be bridged. As a young actor, you naively assume that someone will come along and discover your talent. In your late 20s, after a run of ‘brown roles,’ opportunities start to dwindle. Suddenly, your mid-thirties hit and you’re too young to play mother but too old to play the daughter. I was at a similar stage when I had to seriously reconsider an alternate career,” Suddha says, explaining why she started writing.
So, playwriting came about because of lack of work?
“Absolutely! Shaheen Khan of Bend it like Beckham fame (she plays the mother) and I started our acting careers together. Suddenly, we both found ourselves in a strange predicament — there were no roles available for the thirty-something Asian woman who, despite being a wife and mother, had a life and an identity of her own. Asian women on stage and television were either portrayed as victims of tradition, tearing to break away or as grey haired martyrs suffering the demands of a foreign culture. So, we thought instead of waiting for the phone to ring, let’s create our own portrayal of the thirty-something Asian woman.”
That’s how the BBC radio play Girlies came about. Co-written by Suddha and Shaheen Khan, Girlies is a play about a group of thirty-something Asian women who meet regularly for a girl’s night out sort of evening. What they all have in common is that they are all misfits either because of their single status, careers or marriage outside the community. Was this a personal piece?
“It was a very personal piece. I not only married outside the community, I married a Pakistani Muslim. That was enough to render me a misfit. We faced huge challenges about people accepting us. If one person’s beliefs are very strong and he or she tries to convert the other out of self-righteousness, they might run into problems. But if both partners are strong and secure in their faith, they can have a happily married life, despite their religious difference,” she says when asked if she was pressured to convert. How about her own children? What has she decided about their religious persuasion?
“I’m fairly secular in my children’s upbringing, but I do worry sometimes that they may turn around one day and question, ‘why didn’t you guide us?’ But despite my fears and apprehensions, I would like them to make up their own minds.”
As a writer, Suddha Bhuchar has brought many interesting themes to stage, but most revolve around the problems of Asian communities. Is there a mainstream market out there for plays about the Asian community, or is it mainly limited to the Asian audiences?
“We have a limited audience. For a play like Fourteen Songs and a Wedding you have the Bollywood-loving crowd, while for a play like Balti Kings (about take-away curry owners) and Painted Dawn (about Partition), we get an audience who want to develop a deeper understanding of the Asian community’s issues. But while the appeal is limited more to the desi crowd, we have set out to be mainstream.
We want our work, our talent to be appreciated by all and not just the desi community. The real joy is when you have a mixed audience, your Asian crowd enjoying something
that also appeals to British theatre-goers — that’s where the real challenge lies. Sadly, you can’t always exercise your artistic abilities.”
Speaking of Bollywood, what did she think of it?
“Now that’s a double-edged sword! I’m proud that an Asian industry has made it so big. But the downside is that any popular Asian stuff is compared to Bollywood and it’s not always an informed comparison. You get criticized if it’s too Bollywood-ish and you get criticized again if it’s not Bollywood enough. But all said and done, Indian films are a big influence on Asians. Whether you are Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Nepali, we all know who Shahrukh Khan is!”
So, what is next on the cards for Suddha?
“I have quite a few exciting projects lined up. The adaptation of White Mughals for stage is one. There’s also a collaboration in the waiting with Pakistani theatre company Ajoka. And then who knows? Maybe a brush with film-making.” —By arrangement with the British Council
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