Games People Play

Fed up with films, Naseeruddin Shah and Paresh Rawal make theatre the centrestage of their lives with a taut comic thriller Khel, says Sanjukta Sharma

And that’s all we’ve been allowed to let in to the story. Shah is collected after the hour-long explosion, but still high: "It’s such great fun to give it all on the stage." He was driven by a respect for Paresh Rawal’s work to accept the role. "Initially when I accepted it, I just trusted Paresh’s judgement. I had seen the original film and a stage version in England. It’s a brilliant piece of writing. But when I actually went through it myself, I was completely floored. It’s not just a comedy or a thriller. The characters have their own shades of eccentricities. They are somewhat strange and I love that. Makes it much easier to get involved." That’s probably what sets this play apart. The involvement of the actors. "The acting process is just like reading a great book. One can’t fathom it in one reading. The writer hasn’t written it in one go. A similar involvement is necessary to fathom and then act out each line of a play," both actors agree. Looks like we are in for a battle of wits, similar to thatbetween Sir Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine in the orginal screenplay, Sleuth, on which Khel is based. Naushil Mehta’s script could well make that possible. But, what strikes one is the fun both actors are having on and off the stage, apparently bored with their share in Bollywood. While Paresh Rawal dismisses it with a "there aren’t many choices" shrug, Shah declares his indifference dramatically: "Films are out. A couple of projects and I’ll call it quits. They don’t have roles for me anymore. I want to do theatre full time." As his own director, we presume? "Not necessarily. I have acted in about 100 plays and I have walked out of only two, which has been much made of. But yes, I look forward to directing." Theatre it is, for both. Rawal hopes for a fuller involvement with the stage, with which he began his acting career. "I’ve been actively involved with the Gujarati stage. The last, Gandhi Virodh Godse, was three years ago. Films somehow, take up a bulk of my time. From now on, Iplan to juggle both." But that’s after he takes this play to the USA for a month-long stint. The khel has just begun.