Actress Jayati Bhatia on 21 years of her solo act in Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace

A play as fearless as its protagonist, Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace, is an Indian adaptation of Stella Kon’s celebrated Emily of Emerald Hill, brought to life under the direction of Quasar Thakore Padamsee. First premiered in November 2004 at the Prithvi Theatre Festival in Mumbai, the play has since toured multiple cities, charming audiences with its intimacy, wit and sharp social insight.

While Kon’s original is set in Singapore, Quasar relocates the story to post-colonial Mumbai of the 1950s, adding local flavour, cultural nuances and historical context seamlessly into the narrative. This production stars Jayati Bhatia, one of India’s most versatile and beloved performers. Known widely for her iconic roles in teleserials such as Sasural Simar Ka, Barah Aana, Barfi!, Heeramandi and more, she tells us how this play happened.

“Frankly, I was trying to avoid this play. I remember meeting Quasar over dinner at his mother’s place after a performance of The Vagina Monologues and he came up to me and asked, do you speak Gujarati? I’m thinking of doing a one-act play in Gujarati. I said, No, I don’t — I’m Bengali and married to a Punjabi Bhatia. Then, about 15–20 days later, he called me and said, Jayati, good news — we’re now doing the play in English,” Jayati begins.

The actress delivers a one-woman performance that captures both the grandeur and the vulnerability of a woman negotiating power, status and survival within a patriarchal household. And she has been part of this production for 21 years now, and once again, all set for a three-city tour.

“It was a very strange mix of emotions because, as an actor, it’s always a dream to perform a one-woman play. But at the same time, it’s also incredibly challenging and I honestly didn’t know if I was ready or prepared for it. And then someone was putting their confidence in me — that was equally daunting. He didn’t really give me a chance to say yes or no and one thing led to another. I began rehearsing, we performed the play and now it’s been 21 years,” she reveals.

When asked about her most memorable performance in Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace, Jayati Bhatia doesn’t hesitate to look back at the very beginning. “I think it has to be the very first opening show. I was absolutely terrified. The play is 80 minutes long, but I was so scared that I rushed through it and finished in just 61 minutes! I spoke so fast — I simply raced through the whole thing,” she recalls.

Where the original Emily of Emerald Hill presents Emily’s story as a singular journey of social ascent, Khatijabai adds layers of Indian social reality, highlighting caste, family hierarchy and the subtle negotiations women make to assert influence in their homes. Yet, despite these cultural adjustments, the essence remains universal: the story of a woman claiming her agency in a male-dominated world.

“I was 21 years younger and was completely into this whole women’s liberation thing: the empowerment of women, the idea that women should get out of the house, work and assert themselves. I thought that was the real essence of women’s empowerment. I didn’t realise that our mothers, our grandmothers and countless women in households were still struggling to find their place — trying to assert their importance, trying to belong,” the actress elucidates.

Khatijabai, orphaned and married young into the Karmali family, is initially swept up in domestic chores and endless errands. But beneath her seemingly obedient exterior lies a sharp mind and a strategic heart. She navigates power tussles with her sister-in-law, manages familial expectations and carefully positions herself to become the matriarch of the household. Through her riveting monologue, audiences witness the intricate dance of survival, ambition and identity.

“Even after all these years, we see women who want to create their own world, yet feel they don’t truly belong. That’s exactly who Khatijabai was. She was nine, then twelve, then fourteen when she married into this family. Little by little, by finding her place, her hold, her standing, she became the master of that household. And it’s a reminder: in life, we struggle so hard to gain something and in the end, we ask ourselves — is it really worth it?” she questions.

Even decades after its original conception, the play remains strikingly relevant. In a world where discussions about women’s empowerment often focus on professional achievement, Khatijabai reminds us that agency begins at home, in the spaces where women’s labour — emotional, domestic and social — is rarely acknowledged.

“It’s very relatable. Some might think it’s dated because the world we’ve created is set in the 1950s and people often feel that we’ve come a long way, that women have broken the glass ceiling and so on. Yet, in many ways, we’re still far from it. The challenges aren’t about going to school anymore. But what happens after you graduate — does your family really allow you to go out and work, to become economically independent? And even if you are financially independent, do you truly have the freedom to spend your own money? Often, you might be earning your livelihood, but your finances are still controlled by your husband or your father,” she signs off.

₹500. September 26, 7.30 pm. September 27, 3.30 pm & 7.30 pm. At Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar.

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