New Delhi, June 11 -- Director Mallika Shah's rehearsal room is filled with bright blue fishnet, strewn with leaves, and large swathes of grey fabric with a unique sheen. These serve as props for actors to drag around on stage. The fabric moves with them in a serpentine manner, signifying ropes and waves. The attempt is to recreate the impenetrable mangroves of the Sundarbans.

These props are being used in Jungle Nama, based on Amitav Ghosh's graphic novel by the same name, illustrated by artist Salman Toor. This is an ambitious project for Shah, who has earlier written and directed the popular I Killed My Mother/It Wasn't My Fault. She was first commissioned to produce Jungle Nama for the Neev Literature Festival in Bengaluru in Septemb...