ESSAY: Why Theatre?

No theatrewala wants to be told that the stage is just a stepping stone for films and TV.  Still, it is generally accepted that most graduates from the National School of Drama take the first train (or flight) out to Mumbai… and not all of them come here with the noble intention of enriching Mumbai’s theatre.

Any evening, the Prithvi Café is chock-a-block with theatre actors, at least some of them hoping to be discovered by Anurag Kashyap (you can spot any number of Prithvi hangers-outs in his films) or a TV talent scout. Now some of them regularly pop up in mainstream films as the hero's buddy, and almost all of them do an occasional serial to pay the rent.

In Mumbai, theatre does not pay (maybe Gujarati and some Marathi theatre does), there are hardly any affordable venues for offbeat theatre; actors keep running off when paying work turns up; and getting affordable rehearsal spaces and dates at theatres is a nightmare. Rarely is funding or sponsorship available, and most producers (except Gujarati) claim to make losses with each new production.  Anybody can see that the time, energy and hard work put into plays far outweighs the gains. But Mumbai is where the most plays are produced and performed every year—and arguably—the best.

How come? I put the question to Akarsh Khurana, who produces eight to ten plays a year, writes, directs, acts, pitches in backstage and so on. He thinks about it for a while and says, “I don’t know.”

So a few members of his team are summoned and the question is put to them—one gave up a corporate job to devote time to theatre; another has a day job and helps funds the group (Akvarious).  The discussion that ensues throws up a few points—actors, even those who are not discovered by Balaji Telefilms, from theatre can manage to survive, because some work or the other keeps coming up… voiceovers, modeling, and, of course TV.  And if you are lucky, you hit stardom like Kay Kay Menon did. Or if you go back earlier—Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani all have theatre roots.

So theatre is a stepping stone to films and TV?  No, they argue, those who love theatre never sever their connection with it—look at Naseeruddin Shah (the poster boy of the stars-who-do-theatre-for-the-love-of-it clan). There is Apara Mehta too, who, as theatre-lore has it, would do the Gujarat-Mumbai commute all the time, performing her Gujarati plays in the evening and reporting back for her daily soap shootings in the morning—catching sleep on the commute, her suitcase always packed in the boot of her car.  Makrand Deshpande puts whatever he earns from films into his plays.  And theatre is not limited to actors alone, there’s a legion of backstage people, without whom a play cannot be staged smoothly.

Manav Kaul, who is devoted to theatre, explains, “Even though, theatre is a momentary art, there is no money and fame in it and we cannot even survive on it. But I'd say we do it for the kick.  Everybody in theatre could do other stuff for money, yet they burn up their lives for theatre. Can there be a rational explanation? But when I meet some of the older theatre folk I am captivated by their loud laughter.  That freedom to laugh aloud for me is a greater achievement than a monthly paycheck.”

There is some suffering and a bit of sacrifice involved… so why do theatre?  Some more arguments are tossed about.  “Because it is a fantastic medium,” is the consensus… as simple as that. Another point theatre regulars will bring out in favour of it—the sense of community, support and friendship that being in a theatre group engenders, is quite unmatched, at least in a city like Mumbai.  So even if a person, for some reason, gets out of the theatre, the bonds once forged are never broken.

Comments

[Deepa Deosthalee]

Interesting article DG. Wonder if anyone does cinema for the love of it. Of course, clearly it's much more expensive to make a film. But still, the passion that one sees in theatre is clearly absent in cinema. And perhaps it has more to do with Hindi cinema taking a firmly commercial route.

[Jayshree Shahade]

Hi DG,
sometime it helps to browse! you get to read good article. True picture of commitment of people who love theater.
Lack of facilities for rehearsals, low or no renumeration, wait - but they still come to Prithvi and look forward to another day of hope!!

[deepagahlot]

Hey JS,

Browse more often :) Welcome.

DG