Lillete Dubey to stage play to aid underprivileged

New Delhi, Feb 25: In the realm of theatre, and now cinema, she is known as the ''thinking actress'', one whose plays are 'reflections of modern life'. Now, Lillete Dubey, plans to do her bit for alleviating the condition of disabled by the staging of her famous play 'Dance Like A Man' here on Friday. The staging of the play, which has completed 204 shows in India and abroad and received acclaim from audiences and critics alike, is being organised as an annual fund raising event for the Action for Ability Development and Inclusion (AADI), formerly known as the spastics society of northern India. ''It is my way of doing my bit for society. We all live such busy lives that we often have no time to spare for the underprivileged whose plight merits our urgent attention ,''Lillete told a news agency here. However, for her, organising plays for social causes is not something new.

''Earlier, too, I have been contributing to social causes like concern India. In fact, whenever I stage a new play, I make it a point to organise its stagings at metros to raise funds for the underprivileged,'' she said. This is the first time she has been involved with the spastics society of India.

According to Ms Divya Jalan, chairperson, AADI, the staging of the play was part of its annual fund raising effort for underprivileged children through events like plays or classical music and dance concerts.

''The proceeds from such events usually go towards alleviating the plight of these children through organisation of workshops, counselling sessions and physiotherapic treatment for them,'' Ms Jalan said.
Asked whether the organisation planned to hold more such movie premieres in future too, she said, ''organising movie premieres and concerts by prominent celebrities is not always easy as such stars usually command quite high and 'unaffordable' prices for public performances.''

In this context, she was happy that celebrities like Lillete Dubey had readily agreed to lend their help for such causes.
''When we approached Lillete for organising the play, she immediately agreed to the idea. What is further heartening is the fact that many celebrities like her are kind enough to just charge a token amount for their performance which only goes to show their increasing commitment to social causes.''
Bureau Report