She could have been presenting thundering arguments before a packed courtroom; instead, Dusha was being judged for her acting by a jury at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) in Delhi. On March 25, she emerged as one of the winners of the Best Actor in a Lead Role (Female) award at the prestigious arts event.

Dusha played one of four women in Parna Pethe’s directorial venture Something Like Truth, which was among the 10 plays shortlisted for the awards. Pune was represented by two plays — Something Like Truth and Kadambari, named after Rabindranath Tagore’s sister-in-law and muse. Ipshita Chakraborty Singh won the Best Supporting Actor (Female) award for Kadambari.

This year’s META showcased a range of performances. Mithyasur won Best Production, while Je Janlagulor Akash Chilo from Kolkata won its creator Saurav Palodhi the Best Director award, among others. For Dusha, the recognition was both an appreciation from the theatre community and a reminder of the responsibilities of an artist in a troubled world.

Dusha’s decision not to use a surname also has artistic roots. In the 1990s, there was a movement in the arts where people rejected caste identities by dropping surnames. “Mine was also removed,” she says.

That sense of conviction is reflected in Something Like Truth. The play comprises monologues of four women from different eras and countries, exploring themes of truth, freedom and justice. Dusha portrays a woman in prison — disturbed by her conscience, hounded by questions, seeking strength while also feeling relieved to be away from the world of men. She makes her entrance saying, “I will be here for one year. For the first time, I am feeling safe.” Later, she tells the audience that the men who harassed and hounded her are still outside and free. “I know stories of women like her, though this monologue was imagined,” says Dusha.

The daughter of actor and director Nandu Madhav, Dusha grew up around theatre but chose to study law. She went to the UK for her degree, but says she never felt a sense of belonging in the profession. “I did not think that I would be happy for the next 40-60 years just working as a lawyer, though it is a wonderful profession. When I thought about the kind of life I wanted to lead, I realised that I wanted to lead the life of an artist. I belonged among people who told stories. That brought me back to India to pursue art. I enrolled at the Drama School Mumbai in 2018 and began performing in plays,” she says.

In her final year at law school, she chose an elective titled Film and Law. She later honed her craft working with directors such as Sunil Shanbag and Mohit Takalkar.

Pethe says she had seen Dusha perform earlier, though not in major roles. “She called me to say that there’s a play, written by Shanta Gokhale, that she was thinking of directing. My immediate answer was ‘yes,’” says Dusha.

As the production evolved, Pethe says she realised the play centred on intimate, personal narratives. “The stories are very personal. The women don’t make big statements for the world. They don’t evoke a worldwide change, but they evoke a change within people’s heart who are just audiences at that point,” she says.