Calling the shots

Apparently, a film is in the pipeline, but till that happens, Dubey is using his time to further the cause of theatre. Cause? Did I say 8216;cause8217;? Dubey makes the word sound like a choice expletive when he says, 8220;It8217;s partly the fault of theatre veterans like Prithviraj Kapoor founder of Prithvi theatre, who subscribed to the view that theatre is done for a cause. Theatre is a cause in itself. You must enjoy the process, like bringing up a family, like having sex8230;the other things happen automatically. You cannot preach in theatre,8221; he says.

And then he takes off in his signature style: no-nonsense and incisive, almost with an intention to shock. 8220;I decide on a play because I like it. There are so many women but one chooses the woman one wants to have sex with; though she also has to agree. For instance, I chose Antigone because it8217;s a personal favourite, apart from being a very relevant play. It talks about establishment and rebellion8212;a conflict that still exists as it did 2,000 years ago. One of the eternal truths that makes life so exciting is that it has never offered solutions.8221;

Dubey then invites me for an informal discussion featuring a motley group of members of the audience, theatre enthusiasts, directors, actors and technicians, along with Prithvi czarina Sanjna Kapoor. The discussion is held every afternoon during the annual Prithvi theatre festival to dissect, analyse and debate a play that was staged the night before.

The play in question is Manav Kaul8217;s Aisa Kehte Hain, a musical collage of short stories. Someone in the audience points out that the dancers in a particular scene were not in tandem, while another says he wasn8217;t happy with the vocals of certain actors. Dubey springs to the play8217;s defence. 8220;Everything need not be perfect in theatre. Specialists should be banned in theatre. Besharmi theatre ka janm siddh adhikar hai.8221; Well, what do you say to that?

Dubey8217;s is the kind of rigidity that comes both from a passion for and knowledge of the nitty-gritties of the medium he is involved with. 8220;Theatre has never had a future and yet it has survived for the last 3,000 years and it will survive because people want to do it. It is like sex, you cannot live without sex, sometimes it8217;s good, sometimes it8217;s not so good, sometimes it8217;s marvelous,8221; he says. 8220;You need excitement to continue in theatre. People only see a play and praise or criticise it, but the point is, it8217;s like food8212;it8217;s necessary.8221;

The sixty-plus director returns to film direction with a Marathi film, Ram Naam Satya Hai. 8220;As I grow older, I think the most important subject we try to avoid talking about is death. The film is about death, though I don8217;t plan to make an unpleasant film. Death is as much a part of life as anything else so how does one make it acceptable? I am calling it a celebration of death.8221;

Dubey hopes to be ready with the script by the end of November, after which he will begin the casting and shooting. He hopes to rope in Sonali Kulkarni and Arun Kakde along with veterans from the Marathi film and theatre scene, like Nilu Phule. 8220;Since it8217;s set in a hospice in Maharashtra, a kind of old-age home, all my characters have to be at least 70-75 years old. I want the film to be funny. The humour will be cruel but still will be an acceptable kind of black humour,8221; he says.

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