Lillete dubey

Lillete Dubey, Actor

“It’s a love that seizes you and never lets you go”

Lillete Dubey is known for her amazing performances in Film and Theatre. She has worked in National & International theatre, television and films.

She talks to Women Shine, about her life, her acting love and numerous things.

WS: How was your early life and did you like acting since childhood?

LD: I come from a highly professional family of doctors, judges, and engineers and my father was in the Railways so we travelled a lot around the country, which meant changing schools every few years. This was of course in some ways difficult as a child, but in many ways, it was also a blessing.

One got to see large parts of the country travelling in grand style in the old railway saloons of yore( coaches that contained beautifully appointed bedrooms, bathrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, and a sitting room, sometimes with even a balcony to boot.) 

Changing schools regularly helped me to learn to adapt to different environments and make new friends, together with inculcating a sense of independence and confidence.

As a child I believe I used to put up shows and performed them solo, forcing neighbourhood children to watch my antics!

WS: When did you start acting? What got you started?

LD: I started acting in school in my early years, but the first role of some importance that I remember playing was Cecily in ’The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde in the 9th standard. 

And I got seriously hooked when I joined LSR ( Lady Shri Ram College ) in Delhi to do my Masters in Eng Lit. I started with a play called ‘Mixed Doubles” directed by the very talented Barry John for Yatrik ( one of the foremost theatre groups of Delhi at the time with actors like Roshan Seth and others). I was all of 17 and fell completely in love with the stage and acting. A passion that’s lasted almost half a century!

But of course, I didn’t think it was a viable career option at the time, so I did another Masters in Mass Communications to give myself a career choice in the media. But I went back to acting after my studies again. 

WS: Who are your biggest influences?

LD: I think one of my earliest influences were my parents, in different ways. My father who I called a Renaissance man, introduced me to Western and Indian classical music, painting, philosophy, literature, poetry, etc at a very young age. That certainly shaped my artistic sensibilities. Much later in my life, he told me that he had done a fair deal of acting in his Engineering college in Lahore when he was young too!

My mother and father both had a passion..my mother for medicine, my father for physics, and both didn’t shirk from hard work and discipline. Both also had a high degree of integrity in their work. These qualities are something I inherited from them, and they have influenced me both as a person and as an artist all my life.

The other big influence in my life was of course Barry John. He ignited the passion and fuelled it with his love for his craft and his excellence at it. 

I believe my initial 15 years of work with him as an actress laid the foundation for me both as an actor and as a director. 

WS: What role, if any, deeply affected you personally, perhaps even permanently changed you?

LD: Actors, if they immerse themselves in a part, are coloured and influenced in some manner or another by all their roles and on rare occasions, even sometimes somewhat changed by them. 

I have resonated with many parts I have played, especially on stage, and have had to go to some very dark places in myself to explore them. One role that disturbed and moved me was playing the role of a mother whose daughter has suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a close family member and the mother is in complete denial about it. I think it was even more poignant for me because at some points during our numerous shows, both my daughters Neha and Ira played the daughter’s role on stage with me. It was a performance that always shook me and changed me a little too. 

 WS: What, according to you, is the best and toughest part of your work?

LD: The best part is that it’s not work!. It’s a joy and a thrill and I’m so blessed to be doing something that excites me every day. The worst part is, that it can consume you, sometimes take you away from family and friends, as many passions do. 

Also, artists are fragile creatures. And this is a business that constantly judges you since you are in the public eye. So you have to learn to believe in yourself, have faith in your talent, and not get destroyed by either the adulation or the abuse. 

WS: What’s challenging about bringing a script to life

LD: Oh! That’s the most wonderful part of the direction. To see the script, the story as visuals in your mind’s eye first. When a read a script and I can visualise it,  then I’m sure I want to do that play. When I can imagine the characters, the lighting, the costumes, the palette, hear the music in my head, then the script is beginning to come alive already. And then it’s the process of working with actors, designers, and technicians to realise that vision that you first saw in your head. Another big challenge is how to make an audience see what you saw in the story, and why it fascinates you so much that you want to share it. 

 WS:  How was your experience during the pandemic? Did it teach you anything specific?

LD: The pandemic taught us many things and changed us all in some way. 

For me the first lesson was gratitude. For all that was good in my life. The second lesson was the realisation that time is finite and life short,  and to seize the day, every day!. 

The third lesson was a corollary to the second-to nurture and make the most of everything…relationships, work, everyday joys and to do some of the things immediately that were relegated to the bucket list!

For me, it was a filter that clarified what was important from what was trivial and extraneous.

 WS: Your message to the readers who want to pursue their theatre love.

It’s a love that seizes you and never lets you go.

That is why so many great actors worldwide return to the stage. To the fountain that refreshes them and helps them hone their craft. They come back to feel that unique adrenaline rush of acting on stage, which is a magical shared experience with an audience.

Theatre is the true teacher of your craft. 

But do not come to theatre seeking glory, fame, or money. Fulfillment is its real reward. But if you want to live your life on the edge, thrillingly… it’s the thing for you!

-by Aditi Gupta

aditigupta0523@gmail.com