My first break/Zafar Karachiwala

Luckily for him, a friend who had a very good part in Seema Devi8217;s production of Hamlet had to drop out and so Zafar found his way in. This was in 1992. After which, he decided to train himself in the art of acting 8211; albeit, informally. quot;I worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for a month and attended every theatre workshop I could.quot; In 1995 he got his big break with another Shakespeare classic, Romeo And Juliet 8212; directed by Vikram Kapadia 8212; where he played Romeo. quot;I think this was the role that actually got me recognition. After that I did Acts of Faith with Soni Razdan followed by Art, which is still running well.quot;

So, was it a logical progression from theatre to television to films? quot;Yes. When you are involved with one sphere of performing, you crave to explore other avenues as well. Apart from which, television brings in the money. But there8217;s no greater high than acting on stage.quot;

And, Zafar admits, playing the part of a high-school kid in Hip Hip Hurray didn8217;t exactly prove to be child8217;s play. quot;I had thought I could handle television quite easily. But I found I had to unlearn everything I8217;d done on stage and develop a brand new technique.quot; Now, he also has Neena Gupta8217;s Palchhin in his bag and after a minor part in Mahesh Bhatt8217;s Zakhm last year, he8217;s looking forward to a couple of film assignments as well.

quot;As for theatre, there8217;s a possible version of Lord Of The Flies at the end of the year, an adaptation of a Harold Pinter play and perhaps even King Lear.quot;

8212; DEEPA DEOSTHALEE