Actor Mayuri Deshmukh on liberating the writer within

New Delhi : Popular Marathi actor Mayuri Deshmukh says it has been rewarding to liberate the writer within, in her new teleplay ‘Dear Aajo’, which is a heart-warming, contemporary tale about the bond between an Indian grandparent and his American granddaughter.The story depicts the unfolding of a unique relationship between a granddaughter who is used to living an unfettered life and her grandfather who she is forced to live with for a short period. Initially, she finds her protective and grumpy grandfather rather suffocating but then reaches a point where she even refuses to get married because she doesn’t want to leave him behind.How the two overcome their differences and mould this sweet and very strong relationship has been explored through the course of the play. It is a Zee Theatre presentation.Mayuri says that it was rewarding to create these two rather layered characters and to liberate the writer within. She adds, “I was doing my Masters in Theatre Arts from Mumbai University when I was drawn to the playwriting course taught by the famed theatre guru and playwright Shafaat Khan. It was his methodology and grammar that drew me to the adventure of writing and this is how the characters of Aajo and Shanu emerged. They are divergent in age, nationality, values, social conditioning and yet they form a relationship that is unique. This was the premise that gave me a lot of scope to build many interesting scenes.”Though Mayuri had a fun-filled childhood, she lost her both maternal and paternal grandfather when she was very young. Writing about a relationship she missed out on proved to be therapeutic and also healing in a way.She says, ”A lot of people think that I wrote the play based on my relationship with my grandparents but that is not the case. Unfortunately, I did not get to spend any time with them. I have very faint memories of them and maybe the play compensates for that absence.”