17 Aug 2017  |   04:57am IST

The busy-ness of being Suchi

Entrepreneur, actor, RJ and playwright, among many other roles, Suchita Narvekar is happy to be the recipient of the Yuva Srujan Puraskar for her work in the theatre space. In a candid chat with Suchi, as she is fondly known, Café finds out more about her

Kishore Amati

“I’m an entrepreneur and being my own boss gives me the time and freedom to act, write and do whatever it is that I want to do,” says Suchita Narvekar as we get started with our conversation. You cannot miss the glint in her eyes as she begins talking about theatre – a subject that is close to her heart. Over the last decade, Suchi, as she is called by her friends, has worked in the space of Konkani theatre by writing a few plays and acting in many more. It is this contribution that the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Goa, has recognised by honouring her with the Yuva Srujan Puraskar. While Suchi is elated to be reaping the fruits of her labour now, she recognises that the seeds were sown long ago, when she was little.

Her love for her mother tongue cannot be mistaken as she seamlessly navigates between English and Konkani with fluency in both while narrating her journey. Growing up in the culturally rich environs of Gavne, a hamlet in Ponda, Suchi was exposed to cultural practices, plays and multiple aspects of theatre. A young Suchi would mimic the elders in the family to everyone’s amusement, making it quite evident that the acting bug had caught her quite early in life. Suchi adds, “My observant parents noticed my love for theatre and would enrol me in multiple theatre workshops that taught me about the technical aspects of the craft.” Enthusiastic and repeated participations in school and college plays were enough to make her a popular name in the theatre space. A diploma in Interior Designing, a degree in Journalism and a short stint working with a Konkani newspaper later, Suchi found herself balancing her full time job as a RJ, acting in films and theatre, writing plays, doing TV shows, and the numerous other things that caught the fancy of the curious learner in her.

Suchita believes that the end of her career as RJ in 2015 marked an important phase in her life. Suchi says, “Although I enjoyed my role as RJ, it restricted my participation in the various departments of theatre. Ending it was a well-thought-out decision as I always wanted to be an entrepreneur.” A couple of months later, Suchita opened a slimming centre in Taleigao, which she continues to run. Having a reliable and supportive staff allows her to indulge in her multiple interests and passions, whilst being a successful entrepreneur.

Suchita has penned down seven plays till now and a script for a full-length film is in the works. She shapes her characters from the people that she meets on a daily basis, courtesy her engaging nature and sharp sense of observation. Extract a few personality traits from here and a few behavioural patterns from there, and this is how Suchita builds her myriad characters, leaving room for a fictional story to be then woven in. Suchita says, “Almost all my plays have strong female characters. I am an outspoken person, but I see so many women around me who feel stifled with their issues and are not courageous or strong enough to be vocal about them. I try to give these women a voice by writing about them, portraying them in my plays.”

Suchi feels that there is a dearth of women playwrights in Goa, and the situation needs to change. On a parting note, Suchi says, “It would be nice to have more women write plays and this would be a strong step towards highlighting and solving women’s issues in the country. Also, I hope women start feeling more confident and start exposing themselves to multiple skills and trades. Following a role model is good, but becoming a role model for others to follow is better any day.”