The Short Plays of OUR STORIES (Tamil)
Orae Inam
Indian style parenting is most unique. Our idea of love involves spoon-feeding our children with lots of food and advice, even when they are fully functioning adults. We will happily pay for their college education and weddings, even. But we have a few expectations: a) get a “good job” b) marry a good “family oriented” girl or a successful boy c) provide grandchildren. What happens when any of these expectations is not met? And god forbid that the apple of our eye should ever want to open up about “certain topics” or ever question our deep rooted cultural and social constructs!
Cast: Athira Ajayakumar, Kartic Bhargav, Vaishnavi Sridhar, Bala Kannan.
Suprabhatam
A sweet, funny take on desi parents. If adjusting to a new country is hard for desi immigrants, imagine what it’s like for their aging parents. On top of that, their children don't seem to follow the social norms… from back home!
Cast: Revati S, Pawan Kumar Suresh, Vandana Ramakrishnan, Paul Costello, Radhika Narayanan.
Mananala Kappagam
An Indian student at Stanford goes into deep depression and ends up in the hospital. His father arrives from India, with very little empathy or understanding of mental health.
Cast: Jay Ganesh, Naveen Nathan, Shiv Jayaraman, Kartic Bhargav.
Bobby & Bobbi
Desi boy meets a girl at Starbucks. They get chatting and then start dating. The only problem is that the girl is, ahem, Chinese. Inevitably, the boy's desi parents get involved and then something unexpected happens.
Cast: Carissa Ratanaphanyarat, Kartic Bhargav, Vandana Ramakrishnan, Dilip Ratnam.
Mugavari
At the age of 21, Shalini had a career and supported her family before she came to the US with her husband Karu. A loving if busy husband, an adorable child and no “office tension” to deal with, she is living the good life. Or is she? Shalini’s story explores how talented women can find themselves trapped at home when they follow their husbands on dependent visas.
Cast: Thryambak Vangal, Kavitha Nagarajan, Shiv Jayaraman, Jay Ganesh.
Orey Kallula Rendu Manga
Respectable South Indian family invites suitable match for their beautiful, FAIR daughter (26/5’3) U.S born, doing medical residency from a well-educated, handsome, fair, well-established professional, ages 28-31, settled in U.S. Looking for teetotalers. Please respond with recent photographs, biodata, and horoscope.
– a real matrimonial ad
Indian matchmaking is world famous. Netflix even made a reality show out of it. For practical reasons, desi matchmaking in the US, has adapted to its new environs. Results from matrimonial ads can be iffy. But there are other ways to get them hitched - like a Matrimony Cruise!
Cast: Tannistha Mukherjee, Ram Rajagopalan, Pawan Kumar Suresh, Dilip Ratnam, Vaishnavi Sridhar.
Rummy
Any time women come together with a collective intention, it's a powerful thing. Whether it's sitting down making a quilt, in a kitchen preparing a meal, or around the table playing cards, when women come together with a collective intention, magic happens.
-- Phylicia Rashad
A casual get-together among four friends brings to the surface long suppressed pain and memories from the past. Sexual harassment and assault in India and the US. Then and now. Is it any different?
Cast: Athira Ajayakumar, Radhika Nagarajan, Anusha Balasubramanian, Vandana Ramakrishnan, Kavitha Nagarajan, Vaishnavi Sridhar.