A Touch of Brightness, written by Indian playwright Partap Sharma, centres on Rukhmani, a young girl sold to a brothel in Bombay’s red-light district, and her relationship with Pidku, a street urchin who desperately tries to rescue her from a life of prostitution. Rukhmani captivates Pidku with her visionary stories of the gods and her dreams of a different life. Set against the harsh realities of exploitation and poverty, the play explores themes of innocence, hope, human dignity and resilience.

“One day Pratap asked me to direct a play he had written, called ‘A Touch Of Brightness’. The play had been accepted for the Commonwealth Arts Festival in 1965. I readily agreed and we started rehearsing.

The play was set in Kamathipura, Bombay’s red-light district. We had some fine actors in it. There were Zul Vellani, Vijaya Mehta (née Vijaya Jaywant and later Vijaya Khote), Pearl Padamsee, Farrokh Mehta and many others. It was written in a medium that was a bit like R.K. Narayan’s English, where each character speaks a kind of ruralised English depending on their background. So Zul was the beggar Banarasi Babu. Bhabhi Rani, the madam of the brothel and a very colourful character, was played by Pearl.

I think Pearl more or less transmuted Pat’s dialogue into her own version of what she thought a Bhabhi Rani would speak.” A Touch of Brightness (1965)