Suchitra Krishnamoorthi Opens Up About Love, Loss & Her Musical Play 'The Drama Queen'

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi is a well-established and respected actress, singer, writer and model. Over the years, her work has garnered respect. Her recent work, The Drama Queen, is an Indian musical play out on Audible. This women-centric tale has a few personal stories from Krishnamoorthi's life and connects with people of all backgrounds. She speaks to The Free Press Journal about the play, working with Audible and more.  

Excerpts from the interview:

What made you decide to bring your musical play, Drama Queen, to Audible? Why Audible?

I’ve been doing this play of mine for a while. We’ve had over 50 shows. I was scheduled to travel and in talks to take my play to the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, etc. Then, of course, COVID struck. After that, my dad passed away. My mom passed away. After all that had happened before, my sister passed away. I just wound up my show.

It was just getting too overwhelming for me. So, when my publisher suggested ‘You have all this great material. Why don’t we put it out in audio format?’ I jumped because I was like, 'this is like a godsend'. I’m just thrilled at how it happened. And that I’m here talking about it.

To those who are unaware of your play or your autobiography, from which Drama Queen is adapted in the audio format, what do you have to tell the listeners about what it offers them?

It offers a lot of laughs, fun, warmth, introspection, and some great music.

What was your experience of working with Audible?

It’s been an amazing experience. For me, it was very exciting. I felt important because there was a time when I was dealing with their Singapore office, Seattle office and Tokyo office. Emails were flying back and forth. We would get on Zoom calls and Google Meets to figure this out, and how this file is to be sent and transmitted. So, it was an exciting and learning experience because I was so fascinated by how everything had to be so precise and technically correct.

You have long work experience in the entertainment industry. How do you look back?

I have always said this, that I don’t look at things I do as a career. I do things as an artist. I feel compelled to do them. It’s like there’s something that I want to do. Then there’s a kind of energy that almost takes over, and then I have to do it. I don’t look at it as something I’m slogging and striving for. I look at everything as something that is joyful and playful.

What makes Drama Queen an interesting listen for the audience?

See, I think, audio is such a medium that your brain is your camera. You can bring your imagination to the table. And as we know, that sound is our earliest and most divine connection to the cosmos. So, the impact of sound in our imagination, our physical being and our environment is powerful. What I’m hoping to do through Drama Queen is give people a pleasant, happy and deep and meaningful experience. Something that they laugh and they cry, and not cry, but maybe get a tear or two. And then just say, hey, what fun. That was so much fun.

Your audio series is going to be heard globally across countries. How does that make you feel?

Yeah, I’m feeling so thrilled because yesterday a friend of mine from Spain called me to say that he’s just downloading it and going to listen. Another friend from London is like, ‘Oh my God, I'm hearing it tonight. I’m waiting for the time zones to get, you know, decent. ' So I’ll ask them how it is. I’m so thrilled. And see, like I said, it’s always been my dream.

You know, I wanted to take this to the world stage for a while. I was scheduled to take my play to the U.S. and U.K. Thanks to COVID, all that got cancelled. I have been keen to bring this to a global audience because I think this is not something that is just, these relationships, like you know, are not just India-specific. These are universal emotions we all have. These are relationships we all have. And with my Indian ethos, I hope people can understand, enjoy and have fun with it.

Do you feel that audio mediums are really helping push content out to different parts of the world and give a different perspective?

I think it’s like you can listen to Drama Queen when you’re on a train journey. You can listen to it on a car ride. You can listen to it while exercising. You’re not bound by space. You can experience it by doing other things. So, it’s so handy.

Drama Queen touches on identity, love, single motherhood, and self-discovery. But which of these themes did you feel was the most urgent to express today, and why?

All of it. God knows the world needs love. God knows women need to feel that they are enough. God knows that our relationships are getting more complicated and distant. And we need to find ways to bridge that and work around that. So, I think all of them are very, very important.

How did you come out to navigate the line between Suchitra, the character in Drama Queen and Suchitra, the real woman, writing and performing your truth?

See, Drama Queen is what I call a state-of-mind book. I think when you’re an artist, these lines are blurred, especially when you're writing in first person. Sometimes your imagination takes over and makes you a different person.

You have creative identities as a singer, writer, actor, painter and podcaster. Which of them has challenged your growth the most?

I don’t call myself a podcaster. I’m too new to the business. I’m just doing it because I feel I have knowledge in music, and I can put that out in the world. But the rest of the things are things I’ve grown up doing. They're all the same.

You mentioned that there’s some fun music for the audience to listen to. What was the most creatively challenging part of producing a musical play in an audio form?

Well, music is part of audio. So that was the easy part. But I also see the format of my plays that I was always alone on stage, and I was supported by these voice actors who were wonderful and generous enough to lend me their voice for my play.

So, I have used their voices, and I had to, of course, record all my parts again. I had to re-record some of the singing because there were ambient sounds which sound okay on stage, but don't sound okay in an audio experience. I had a competent team of engineers I worked with. I have enough experience to navigate these challenges.

You don’t hesitate to speak your mind. Did you ever think that that would negatively impact your work? Or, you know, you always wanted to be true.

I don’t want anything to impact my work negatively. But I think like that only. I don't beat myself up for it. My intention is never to hurt anybody. But, as an artist, I sometimes call myself a social commentator. I think I have the right to express myself.

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