Vijay Sharma — a method actor who dug deep into his character

Tribune News Service

Neha Saini

Amritsar, January 28

Amritsar and Punjabi theatre fraternity mourned the loss of Vijay Sharma, the famous actor and theatre personality from the city. Sharma who passed away late Thursday night was suffering from cancer. He was among the selected breed of theatre artistes, who became a household name after appearing on Doordarshan before the advent of cable television. He is survived by two sons and wife. His cremation will be held on Saturday.

Vijay Sharma started theatre in 1977 and continued to evolve as an artiste and later as a producer and director. He alternately kept working for a soft drink company and retired after 35 years of service. Shiromani Natakkar Kewal Dhaliwal, Jatinder Brar, famous playwright Jagdish Sachdeva, and several other eminent artists from city expressed their grief over his untimely demise.

“He was battling cancer for the past several months as it was detected at a very later stage. He was a gem for the theatre fraternity, an immensely talented artiste and a wonderful human being. He was a method actor, who used to dig deep into his character and bring it alive on stage. He was an institution in acting for new theatre talent and will be dearly missed,” said Kewal Dhaliwal.

Sharma became known in theatre and the drama circles after notable plays, such as ‘Mr Galad’, ‘Pehredar’, ‘Adjustment’, ‘Juttian Da Jora’, ‘Apna Apna Hissa’. He has also performed plays in Pakistan, UK and Canada, while also starring in films. He was part of several films, including Ikko Mikke, ‘Ashke’, ‘Tara Mira’ and ‘Eh Janam Tumhare Lekhe’, based on the life of Bhagat Puran Singh.

Noted artiste Arvinder Chamak, who was among his closest friends, shared that Sharma never lost his passion and love for theatre. “He always spared a thought towards theatre artists. He was a mentor for many. Even on his death bed, when I visited him last in Chandigarh, he was curious to know about the ongoing activities of theatre during the Covid times and asked me to help artistes whose livelihood was affected due to lockdown.”

Gurinder Makana, another prominent theatre person, who had worked with Vijay Sharma in several short films, said Sharma was keen on turning into a producer and opening his own production house. “During the pandemic, as well, he kept on making short films as a producer to contribute creatively. We worked on two short films, Departure and Father’s Day.”

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