Puri’s Amrita

“I am nervous about my comeback on stage. It’s been a long gap,almost 20 years,but I feel it’s time to get back to theatre,” reflects Om Puri. The actor has chosen the classic Tumhari Amrita in Punjabi. It’s a play,says Puri,which needs to be staged for the Punjabi audience,as there is a need for “serious and quality productions and themes” in Punjabi theatre. Personally,the actor admits he felt more at ease about Tumhari Amrita for his return journey to stage,as it’s a play that requires no sets,costumes or music,but conviction and expression. “Love is a subject that’s universal and stands the test of time,like the play has,for the last 20 years. I am looking

forward to the play of words,though I think I’ll need to colour my hair for the part of Zulfikar Haider,” quips the actor,set for grand rehearsals for close friends in Mumbai. The play,in Punjabi,will be first staged at the Punjabi International Film Academy Awards (PIFAA) in Toronto next month. Finding an actor to play the part of the protagonist Amrita,adds Puri,was a challenge,as not many actors in Mumbai can read Punjabi. Finally,actor Divya Dutta was chosen to essay the role.Puri hopes to stage the play in

Patiala after Toronto,as this is the city where he began his journey on stage with Punjabi theatre thespian Harpal Tiwana. Keen to promote theatre in Punjab,especially at the Harpal Tiwana Centre for Performing Arts (HTCPA) in Patiala,Puri says it is a tribute to Tiwana,who spearheaded theatre movement in the state and inspired him to act. Puri joined Harpal and Neena

Tiwana’s theatre group,Punjab Kala Manch,in the late ’50s and worked with them for three years,before moving to the National School of Drama (NSD),Delhi. “Cinema has really kept me busy all these years. While films have an amazing reach,theatre is like classical music,it has a special audience. Now,I feel I am at an age and stage where I can give time and effort to theatre,explore new scripts,and both act and direct,” says Puri.