by Arjoon Kabir Kakkar
16 June, Tuesday | 8:00 pm | Shreeram Lagoo Rang Avkash, Pune
Jismaan Ton Paar
Jismaan Ton Paar (“Beyond the Body”) is a bold, intimate, an hour long solo performance tracing a trans man’s journey to find himself in a world where trans lives remain invisible and discovering that, when he finally does, his story becomes about far more than being trans. Blending personal narrative, interaction, movement, poetry, humor, and musicality, this semi-autobiographical piece explores dysphoria, belonging, the politics of clothing, accessibility, and public space with disarming honesty and wit.
Produced by The Yellow Man Stories and selected for Uspaar’s no-cost residency, the show has been featured in Mid-day and performed at Off Cue, Tamasha Studios, Uspaar, Veda Chaubara, Third Bell Studios, Lilanoor Centre (Delhi), Lok Kala Manch (Delhi), Star Hopper Studios, Nirmik Festival, and Soho House. The play also inspired a documentary film titled How Much Space Does a Firefly Take?, directed by Shubham Negi selected for Nagari Film Festival 2025 & also screened at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2026. Now, Jismaan Ton Paar embarks on an ambitious 100-show tour across India, so far has completed 12 shows.
Credits
Co-Direction, Script and Performance:
Co-Direction, Set and Costume Design:
Light Design & Operation:
Sound Design and Performance:
Music Composition and Performance:
Music Operation & Live Percussion:
Poster Design:
Arjoon Kabir Kakkar (he/him)
Subhojit Das (they/them)
Hemank Soni (he/him)
Karanjot Singh (he/him)
Sushant Singh Charak (he/him)
Hriday Bhatia (he/him)
Anshu Sathe (she/they)
Director’s Note
Subho: The play is extremely personal to me, and my identity is deeply represented within it. Sadly or perhaps happily, I cannot say the same for many other texts, and that became my first point of attraction to the piece. In its early stages, it was just me and Arjoon, a collaboration between Delhi theatre and Bengal theatre traditions. Our theatre is deeply political, satirical, and rooted in the journey of becoming. We use time in a playful way, often examining the patterns within our own transformations and identities. Through this autobiographical journey, we also attempt to reflect on the society we inhabit and the structures that shape us. At its core, the play speaks about resistance and hope in these dark times. I hope that after the performance, audiences may leave the theatre, but continue carrying our umbrella with them. That is my only wish. Let us hope together.
Arjoon: Moving through different phases of making the play, I was the performer, the outside eye, and sometimes the editor. This is a constant process of attachment and detachment. We often tend to categorize ourselves and the world into isolated species: us and them. I wanted to write about my being beyond that. To bring some light to the invisible lives of us trans men of all genders and to maybe pay a tribute to our ancestors who have long fought for us to be here. Since it is a personal and semi-autobiographical play, I tend to make changes with every show. The audience plays a vital role in shaping this adaptive play. The aim is to stay true to the meaning and intention, yet have fun!
Director’s Bio
Subhojit Das (they/them) is a queer theatre maker, actor, designer, dramaturg, and student from Howrah, West Bengal. A Drama School Mumbai graduate in Acting and Devising, they also hold a degree in Intercultural Performance Making and trained as a theatre designer. A recipient of the Godrej Prajukta Fund and the 2025 100 Pipers Upcoming Artist Award, Subho works with experimental queer spaces and queer temporalities, constantly researching queer languages in theatre. Their notable works include Keyabat Meye, exploring 19th-century women’s liberation, and Kolikata Kalankini, engaging with 19th-century working-class women and sexual literature.
Arjoon Kabir Kakkar is a trans man, actor, theatre-maker, and storyteller based between Delhi and Mumbai. A graduate of Drama School Mumbai and a recipient of the Pirjosha Godrej Fund, he has been working in theatre for the past eight years. He is also the founder of The Yellow Man Stories, an independent production entity through which he develops original performance work. His recent work includes Jismaan Ton Paar, a self-written solo performance; the documentary film How Much Space Does a Firefly Take? directed by Shubham Negi; Department of Jokes directed by Alok Rajwade; Khilona directed by Padma Damodaran, Where is Kirti? and Why Can’t an Actor Learn Horse Riding in This Economy? directed by Karen Houge.