Not acting on impulse...

Mona

Theatre is the only institution in the world which has been dying for 4,000 years and has never succumbed. It requires tough and devoted people to keep it alive...wrote John Steinbeck. A quick check on the theatre scene in Chandigarh, and it was rather heartening to meet some ‘tough’ and ‘devoted’ young directors here who wouldn’t swap positions for anything else under the sun...

Making it a child’s play

Zubin Mehta

First step: My father took me to a theatre company when I was eight-years-old. I played a role of a little kid in a Punjabi play and then went on to work in several plays as a child artiste. Though I lost my father the very next year, he would always remain an inspiration for me.

I learnt acting from many people and books, but it was Gursharan Paaji, who had a huge impact on me. After him it was Konstanin Stanislavsky. His four books on theatre and acting set the basis of my style of working.

My work: I have directed around 35 plays in the last 12 years. Sadat Hasan Manto’s Toba Tek Singh (adaptation: Rishteyan Da Kee Rakhiye Naam by Atamjit Singh) has been my most successful play. I directed it with students of Yadavindra Public School. They played their parts so convincingly that not a soul in the audience left the theatre without moist eyes.

Wish list: Every new production is a dream. Though I would love to get back to acting on stage someday.

Highs n lows: It can be emotionally exhausting at times. During the course of making those plays, I live all the characters myself. Sometimes those characters give me a lot of joy and sometimes they make me sad.

Agents of change

Sarver Ali and Amit Sanouria

First step: We joined theatre as a hobby in college to realise the potential it holds in bringing a change in society. After doing a course in acting from Madhya Pradesh School of Drama, Bhopal, we are happy manning Satvik Art Society.

We love: Sanjay Upadhyay directs awe-inspiring musicals. We have taken this trait from him. When words fail, but music does the magic of getting message across.

Our work: In less than three years, we have done about eight productions. Aashadh Ka Ek Din is the one close to our heart. It’s Mohan Rakesh’s story about famous poet Kalidas and Mallika. We roped in young composer Virender Kumar Ahirvar for music and his songs in Bundeljkhandi were the highs of the show. So much so that we had the audience hugging the actor who played Mallika and cried after the show.

Highs & lows: Only highs. We work with the youth and come across good, bad and ugly face of society. So much to do and we are glad we are on the path.

At hand: Currently we are working on a script of how the affection between two lovers gets coloured by the divisions of caste, creed and class.

Imagination unlimited

Vinod Bharti

First step: I moved to Chandigarh from Yamunanagar to pursue studies and a career and a decade later, I am happy doing theatre for children through his banner Rangroot and as a part of CEVA Drama Repertory Company.

I love: The first professional workshop I took was under NSD alumnus Nutan Mathur. Post that I have worked under J Kumara Varma and GS Channi, while I learnt to decode literature by Verma sir, to put it across I follow Channi sir’s way.

My work: I have done some six plays and among those Vahan Nagar Ki Pratha that brings about how kids are thrown in competition mode by society got lot of appreciation.

Touched by: What I love about my field is that its limitless, on the other hand it’s very difficult to build base.

Wish list: I dream of getting better with each production.

Stage managed

Ranjit Roy

First step: I always nursed the idea to do something for the nation. While military was my first choice, a chance meeting with Shyam Juneja made me realise how I can serve country via stage too.

Message given: I love to do issue-based plays. My first was based on racism faced by Indians in Australia, carrying the message of peace.

My mentor Shyam Juneja put me on the road to realistic theatre.

Silver lining: Seeing from far, theatre does look like a very difficult career to break into. Once in you realise that there are options and perks if you are good at it.

Wish list: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is what I would like to present next reflecting Indian ethos.

Creative kicks

Chandra Shekhar Prasad

First step: I did theatre in school and college back in Madhubani, Bihar. It helped me reach out and make friends from different walks of life. Theatre became the reason to pursue studies in Chandigarh and later make it my base.

Simply because: I got such a hearty response in my early theatre days that I wanted to work more and more. In our area, you don’t see eye to eye with your teachers, the stage production earned me the right to have tea with them. I wanted to give back to the medium.

My work: Tagore’s Namak Ka Daroga won us loads of appreciation. I believe during the end, the way we fused idealism with realism clicked with the audience.

I love: I find it a huge privilege to be able to create and stage one production after another that comments on society.

At hand: Does love vanish when put in an institution like marriage is what I am working on next.

Way of expression

Chakresh Kumar

First step: I like the feeling that I can express myself more freely on stage than in life. This was the motivation to pursue theatre as a profession. Studies brought me from Uttar Pradesh to Chandigarh and 15 years on, through Alankar, I am sharing my thoughts with the audience.

My work: My first teacher adapted a play from a Russian novel by Chyngyz Aitmatov and that has been our most successful production so far.

I love: While I love being in the position of taking my thoughts to my audience and act as a third eye, the most challenging part is the seamless coordination between writer’s, directors’ and actors’ point of view.

Wish list: I dream of doing plays in areas people have never thought of. I want to do a historical play in sector 16 stadium replete with horses and elephants. One under the sea, another in stark jungle, I want to explore different spaces.

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