With this interview with Vira Sathidar, we begin a series of stories called “Living Ambedkar Jayanti”. In the first part of the interview, Sathidar, who is also the Convener of Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), Nagpur, talks of his days in the Ambedkarite movement in Maharasthra, even before the formation of the Dalit Panthers. The actor, who received critical acclaim for his performance in Court, speaks on the need to reimagine the figure of the actor. An actor needn’t be a star, he can also be an activist.
In the second part of the interview, he specifically talks of Marxist and Ambedkarite politics. While he does imagine the possibilities of solidarity, he says that such a solidarity can only happen if all the groups come together and agitate on the ground. We cannot have solidarity simply through discussions, he says.
