In a Maddening crowd

“Durvesh shared the idea for Pagal Ki Diary when my juniors and I had met for coffee. All of us were hooked,” says Pardeshi,who graduated from NSD in 1998. The story portrays the struggle of a man who has lost all faith in humanity and society. He believes that he lives in a cannibalistic society where he will be eaten up by those around him.

“The playwright has used cannibalism as a symbol for corruption in society.

The protagonist is driven to madness due to the suffocation he suffers from being stripped of all freedom. This theme is relevant to me as I see youngsters taking to the streets to protest wrongdoings in society but hardly ever seeing any difference. We know there is corruption everywhere. We just don’t know how to break away from it,and this is what causes suffocation,” says Pardeshi,who staged this 55-minute play last month for the drama students of Lalit Kala Kendra,Pune University.

Despite making it big in the Marathi television scene,Pardeshi looks to theatre to satisfy his cravings for creative expression. “I have been working in TV serials since 2005 and have come to know that it is not a medium where one gets to show their true talent. Every move is dictated and you have to follow the hierarchy,listen to the producer,director and scriptwriters. I leave for shoots at around 9 am and stay out for long,sometimes for even 30 hours at a stretch. It saturates me,both as an actor and a human being,” says Pardeshi. He breaks from the mundane by going up on the stage to interact personally with his audience. “It adds excitement to my life,” he says.

The troupe will be travelling with the show to Kolkata,Delhi and Chennai. “We have also filmed the first performance and will send its edited version to various theatre and film festivals. We hope to perform the show at the Chinese Embassy too. I think they will be happy to see an adapted version of a classic,” he says.