Mumbai, (Maharashtra) [India], October 27, 2025: In a stirring testament to the appetite for bold, woman-centred storytelling, Chitrangada – Ek Sashakt Naari returned to Mumbai 9’ October 25 for a special staging at St. Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra — barely months after its debut run — to unanimous applause and sold-out houses. Presented by Indrani Mukerjea Enterprise (IME), the production reaffirmed the company’s commitment to high-calibre theatre while spotlighting Indrani Mukerjea’s magnetic performance at its heart.
Mukerjea once again commanded the stage as Chitrangada — inhabiting both Kurupa’s restraint and Surupa’s luminous confidence with a performance critics and audiences have previously described as “emotionally precise” and “viscerally modern.” Her embodiment of the character remained the evening’s central force, for every scene traced a careful arc of inner change rendered through measured movement, voice, and presence.
“Stepping into the shoes of Chitrangada feels like listening to a voice I have carried for a long time,” said Mukerjea. “This return was never meant to be a repeat. It was an invitation to go deeper — to honour Tagore’s lyricism while letting the story speak to the women in our lives today. Seeing the audience at St. Andrew’s respond with such warmth tonight was the most rewarding measure of that work.”
A defining outcome of this phase is IME’s renewed focus on talent-building. The company announced that it has entered into its first-ever artistic contract with Subrat Panda, who stepped into the role of Arjun for this run. Subrat — an Odia-born performer with training across theatre, dance, and visual arts, and a lifelong engagement with Rabindranath Tagore’s literature — brings a disciplined theatricality and fresh interpretive sensibility to the part. IME’s contract formalises a longer-term mentorship and performance pathway for Subrat, signalling the company’s intention to invest in emerging voices.
“It’s an honour to be welcomed into IME’s family,” said Subrat Panda. “Playing Arjun opposite Indrani has been a profound learning curve. Tagore’s characters have accompanied me since childhood, and tonight felt like the culmination of those years of listening and study. I am excited and humbled to continue this journey under IME’s guidance.”
Directors Tony and Madhumita Chakraborty — whose collaborative vision shaped the production’s blend of classical texture and contemporary stagecraft — described the Bandra performance as a clarifying moment for the piece. “Our intention was to preserve Tagore’s poetic heart while sharpening the emotional throughline for today,” said Tony. “Subrat’s arrival allowed us to recalibrate certain relationships in the play and discover new tonalities.” Madhumita added, “Chitrangada’s power lies in delicacy as much as in force. In this staging, those subtleties landed with a clarity that felt both intimate and large.”
Last night’s staging also affirmed IME’s developing artistic roadmap. Buoyed by the traction Chitrangada has found, the company revealed it is deepening its engagement with Tagore’s corpus: IME is now working on an adaptation inspired by a curated selection of Tagore’s short stories, intended as the company’s next theatrical offering. The project aims to continue IME’s twin mission — producing ambitious, female-forward work while creating platforms for new performers, writers, and designers.
St. Andrew’s Auditorium provided a receptive atmosphere for the production’s refined visual language — from the choreography’s rhythmic clarity to the live score’s textured timbres — elements that critics noted elevated the evening beyond a conventional revival. Audience response was immediate and effusive, with many attendees lingering after the curtain to applaud the company and performers.
Indrani Mukerjea Enterprise thanked its creative and production partners for bringing the vision to life and reiterated its intention to tour the production to select cities in the coming months. Tickets for future performances and details about the Tagore short-story project will be announced via IME’s official channels and BookMyShow.