One, two many

Dirty Talk is a play that represented India at Contact World Theater festival in 2010 at Manchester in United Kingdom and have been staging this play for the past three and a half years. It was a play that was devised without a script by the actors. I play the lead character named Balram Shankar who speaks the local language, does not like outsiders staying in his area and city. Shankar genuinely wants to improve the quality of life of the people living in his neighbourhood. He does not like that a newcomer is standing against him in the elections. My character is inspired from a political family living in Maharashtra. Dirty Talk raises the issue of censorship and how society always passes judgement.

You are also acting in the play, The Boy Who Stopped Smiling.

I play the lead character called Malhar who is a chess prodigy and his aim in life is to defeat the chess legend Vishwanathan Anand. Malhar has suddenly stopped smiling and everyone around him is happy, but are clueless about this sudden change in his demeanour. The play talks about how parents are insensitive to what the child aspires for and pressurise their children to become doctors, engineers etc. The issue is treated in a fun manner. The play was written in 1998 by Ramu Ramnathan and produced by Sanjana Kapoor. Fifteen years back, the lead character was played by director of the play, Jaimini Pathak.

You are performing in two plays, so is it difficult to portray such diverse characters?

Both the plays, Dirty Talk and The Boy … are completely different from each other. Dirty Talk is an hour long play, while The Boy Who Stopped Smiling is a two hours play, so preparing for them becomes very tiring and difficult. It was for the first time that I stepped twice on the stage at Prithvi. There are very few actors who get the opportunity of performing two different plays on the same day, at the same venue, and I am lucky to be one of them. Although it was very exhausting, it was a memorable experience.

Which are your favourite plays that you have acted in?

My favourites are Dirty Talk and Chotu and Bali. I love Dirty Talk because it provides complete entertainment, while at the same time, makes an important social statement. Girish Karnad’s Bali The sacrifice, had Naseeruddin Shah in its cast, but later I stepped in to play his character! We staged the play in 2009 and 2010 while I was shooting for Love Sex Aur Dhokha. I played an elephant keeper a Mahavat who is having an affair with the queen of the kingdom.

What kind of roles do you like to play?

I prefer everything that challenges me as an actor. The true essence of comedy lies in tragedy. Like The Boy… is a very funny play, although it is tragic that the kid has lost his capacity to smile. I have also done a play, Money Honey with Barry John in which I played a funny role.

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