Dheepa Ramanujam on directing Sruti Bhedham

Twenty years ago, I staged Sruti Bhedham for the first time. Strangers approached me with tears in their eyes, telling me how much the play moved them. The reception was unanimous—whether we performed in the USA or India, audiences connected deeply with this story.

Thanks to Bay Area Drama Company, I'm able to bring this wonderful play back to life—and this time in English too, as Broken Note, so even more people can experience it.

Written by Anand Raghav, Sruti Bhedham tells the story of Nithya—the brilliant, talented daughter of a celebrated musician who refuses to acknowledge her existence. But it isn't just a play about music or musicians. It's about identity, belonging, and the courage to demand your place in the world. It's about the daughter fighting for recognition, the mother caught between loyalty and conscience. It asks: what does it cost to be acknowledged? What do we owe to family—especially when they've hurt us?

I'm thrilled to share that this revival production of this woman-centric story is led entirely by a team of women, including our music director, stage manager, makeup lead, costume lead, producer, marketing lead, and dance choreographer.

I'd also like to take a moment to highlight our brilliant music director, Asha Ramesh. She assembled a wonderful team of talented Bay Area artists—Anil Narasimha, Roopa Mahadevan, Akshaya Ramanujam, Aditya Satyadeep, Sri Vidya Pamarthy, Vignesh Venkataraman, and Srivathsa Pasumarthi—to bring these tracks to life.

Art isn't always comfortable, but I believe its power lies in the transformative ability to challenge us, to make us think and reflect. I hope this story will do just that.

Hoping to see you all in the theater.

Dheepa Ramanujam
Director