SOUTH ASIAN ARTISTS SPEAK ABOUT THEIR CRAFT

By Rachel Astarte Piccione

REHANA MIRZA, Screenwriter & Director
ROHI MIRZA PANDYA, Producer

I first met Desipina Company founders Rehana Mirza and Rohi Mirza Pandya in 2005, when they produced my short play, “Intimate with the Locals” as part of their annual Seven.11 series. Desipina originated as a thematic amalgam of South Asian and Filipino theater and film, but there’s much more to the story of how these two sisters created their dream company.

RAP: Why did you start up Desipina Company?

RM: It was out of sheer need to tell a story that wasn’t being told in the mainstream. Barriers was our first production and we created Desipina mainly to do this play. It was right after 9/11 and we felt an intense need to show Islam not as a destroying faith but a healing faith; to show that not all South Asians were terrorists; to show a bi-racial family and represent a true Pan-Asian landscape; and to show a Muslim-American family hurt by 9/11 and not the cause of 9/11. After the response to the play, we realized that there are many stories that the South Asian and Asian-American communities do not get to... We wanted to continue creating cross-cultural exchanges by showing diversity on the stage.

RMP: As theater producers, we decided that Rehana’s play Barriers needed to be heard and in order to achieve that goal we needed to form our own company. We formally incorporated...in January 2002. We’re now in our fifth season.

RAP: What are your latest projects?

RM: I’m working on a few different things. I like to mix it up so that I can alternate between film and theatre, administrative and creative, moving forward and wallowing in it all! Basically, I like to be simultaneously working on something in my conscious mind while letting my unconscious take in things and “perk.” (Yes, like coffee…and I like mine strong!) So right now, I’m working on a play that deals with a morning prank radio show and the intern that comes along to reform it one fart joke at a time, while also working on Desipina’s sixth season and its fundraising gala, while also working on editing my screenplay There’s Something About Marriage, while also brewing up a brand new film script. And finally, I’ve just finished up "Hiding Divya" so we’re now ready to start sending that out to film festivals.

RMP: Desipina has a busy year ahead in 2007:
- January 31 is our five-year gala. This is an important fundraising benefit for us as it will help us sustain the company and help us present the popular Seven.11 series as well as other great work that we have on our slate
- March/April is Seven.11 Not only will have a 3 week run in Manhattan, we will be presenting the show at Queens Theatre in the Park after the Manhattan run.
- June 11-17 we’ll be working with the Public on the Suzan-Lori Parks plays. We are so excited to be selected among the other theater companies to produce this work!
- We start our Sixth Season in September with Ravi Kapoor’s Prince of Delhi’s Palace.

RAP: That’s quite a lot. How did they come about?

RM: Desipina is a constant source and fuel for my thoughts. It’s like my pet goldfish that always needs my attention or it’ll eat all the other fish in the tank. No, wait… that’s not right. But Desipina will always hold a special place in my heart so I will always be working on something to keep it running strong. The fundraising gala is something that came about in trying to figure out a way to get money for our programming. Our next season is going to be very ambitious and we sorely need all the help we can get. We’re committed to continuing to bridge the gap between mainstream and the South Asian community...

The play that I’m working on came out of a need for a thesis play for my MFA in Playwriting from Columbia, and plus after having heard the “Tsunami song” on Hot 97 I was so livid, I felt the need to write something/anything about legitimizing racism in public broadcasting.

The screenplay came out of the desire to see a romantic comedy that show a totally comical, clumsy, and endearing South Asian girl in the lead, and the new film script… well, I guess that’s still coming about.

“Hiding Divya,” which deals with mental illness amongst three generations of South Asian women, came out of the need to shed light on a not-much talked about subject matter.

RMP: The fifth-year Anniversary Gala has come about through the need for funds to keep our company going. We planned a great evening of fun: snippets of Seven.11 of past years, a live auction, cocktails provided by Bilimoria wines and Krait beer and dinner at the Lighthouse.

Seven.11 is a concept Rehana came up with. It embodies what Desipina is about…fun, kitchy and diverse.

We have worked with Ravi Kapoor before (he directed the West Coast version of Barriers) and always wanted to work with him again.

RAP: Do you find yourself drawn to particular themes/messages in the work you do? If so, what are they?

RM: I find myself drawn to the things people don’t want to talk about. I always look around the room trying to find the elephant and give it a megaphone. I just feel like the world maybe could breathe easier if we just talked about things a bit more and open up conversations. My main goal as both an artist and an artistic director is to create and present works that challenge existing ideas and promote cross-cultural dialogues.

RMP: I love strong women characters.

RAP: What, if any, are your obligations as artists? As human beings? Are they connected in any way?

RM: My obligation as both an artist and a human being is to try to promote social change through entertainment. Most of the time, we walk around not realizing that we have the power to change what people see through the creation of images and stories. It’s a constant battle balancing and identifying what can further ourselves as a society, and as an individual.

RMP: As an artist and a human being, I strongly feel that we need to make a difference in this world. I hope that every production I produce, whatever industry it is -- theater, film, television, makes a positive change. I think through art we can promote social change.

RAP: Who are your heroes and/or heroines?

RM: I find the idea of heroes and heroines odd. I like the X-Men, though.

RMP: Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan & Reese Witherspoon (I know its really a random list but I have good reasons for all of them.) Oprah is a great successful business woman, Michael demonstrates with hard work and dedication you can achieve your dreams, I love Reese’s work and I think she has (even after the split with Ryan) a great balance between work & family.

RAP: Thinking about South Asian and South Asian-American theater and cinema, what would you like to see change, if anything?

RM: There tends to be an emphasis on criticizing within the Asian theatre and cinematic world. I think I would try and change that, if anything. Often, I find South Asians to be harder on other South Asian projects than on another ethnicity or non-ethnicity. Or I’ll also hear of South Asian projects looking for white actors or white writers to give themselves validity. The best person for the project should get the role, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the best person is NOT South Asian, and vice versa. Also, I’d love to see MORE being made!

RMP: The quality of the work out there; it’s slowly but surely moving away from identity issues but we still need higher standards. I love to see more unique stories being told with quality productions.

RAP: What does “soul” mean to you? (This can be a soul, the soul, or the concept of soul in general...)

RM: Rohi’s name means soul, so I guess to me, it means sister. It means sharing, and the idea that everything becomes even more special through that.

RMP: Roohi actually means “spirits” or “souls” in Arabic, so I have always related the word “soul” with my own name…

RAP: What do you love?

RM: I love creating art and the feeling of stepping back and looking at it.

RMP: Family, good friends and my work in theater & film

RAP: In one sentence, name one thing about yourself that is true.

RM: I like hazelnut coffee with cream and sugar from Dunkin Donuts. Any offers?

RMP: I produce film, TV, and theater... I sleep, eat, and dream about my work and I love it!

Bios

REHANA MIRZA, Writer/Director is a screenwriter, film director, playwright and Artistic Director for Desipina & Company, a South Asian and Asian American arts company promoting cross-pollinations in theatre and film. Her full-length play, Barriers, premiered at HERE Arts Center (NYC) before going on to be co-produced by the Asian American Theatre Company in SF/LA. Screenwriting credits include: Far From Home (Sundance Feature Film Lab Finalist), Tiger Meat (LightHouse Productions), Quarter Life Crisis (starring Lisa Ray & Maulik Pancholy), Fillum Star: The Peter Patel Story, Paradise, and There's Something About Marriage (2006 IFP Market).
She has also recently wrote and directed her first feature film, Hiding Divya, featuring Madhur Jaffrey, Pooja Kumar and Deep Katdare (www.hidingdivya.com). Her short film Modern Day Arranged Marriage won the NBC Live Audience Award at the Short Cuts Film Festival in NYC.
Rehana graduated with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and a minor in Asian Pacific American Studies. She is currently an MFA Candidate in Playwriting at Columbia University.

ROHI MIRZA PANDYA has worked as a multimedia producer and event organizer, garnering attention for her numerous accomplishments in both the film and theatre industries, spearheading events and productions on a national level. In particular, she has organized countless film screenings and movie release premiere parties of South Asian-themed films and popular hits such as Monsoon Wedding, The Guru, Bend It Like Beckham, and Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. Rohi also produced the film, Fillum Star: The Peter Patel Story, which was released worldwide in spring 2004 and has produced the award winning short film, Modern Day Arranged Marriage. TV producing credits include: the award winning "Finding My America", the 2005 & 2006 "SASA Specials" and the 2005 "South Asian Media Awards".
In theatre, Rohi's productions have gained critical attention and reviews in esteemed journals and media outlets such as The New York Times, Time Out New York, the San Francisco Chronicle, and BBC. She has independently produced Barriers and the award-winning Seven.11 series.
Rohi obtained her MBA from the University of Colorado and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from Rutgers University.