STAGECRAFT
Theatre is a passion
KANKANA BASU
|
It’s festival time at Prithvi Theatre and Sanjna Kapoor holds forth on matters close to her.
|
Theatre is capable of finding an audience just anywhere, even in the middle of a desert
Photo: V. Sudershan
ROLLERCOASTER RIDE: Sanjna Kapoor.
For theatre lovers, all roads lead to the Prithvi theatre, Mumbai, this month. The tree-lined lane leading to the famous Prithvi theatre is a beehive of activity with playwrights, actors and technicians scurrying around trying to get their act togeth
er. Presiding over this winter madness is Sanjna Kapoor. Yelling instructions to an assistant, giving directions to a confused visitor and preventing a poster from crashing down on a reporter’s head, the lady manages the impossible feat of being in 10 places at the same time. Dressed elegantly in a black and white sari, her golden brown hair cascading down to her waist and her wrists jangling with silver bangles, Sanjna takes a break for coffee and speaks of matters close to her heart.
So it’s that time of the year again?
Ah, yes. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary this year and the festival is dedicated to Satyadev Dubey. This year, besides Prithvi at Juhu, the venues will stretch across the city. As usual, I’m on a roller coaster ride emotionally. Every year, my feelings vary. Some years I’m calm and composed and some others, I’m frenetic and out of control. This year I’ve got a cocktail of emotions on my hand!
Any special reason for choosing to focus on Satyadev Dubey?
In 1991, we came up with the idea of placing a playwright at the centre of the Festival. Satyadev Dubey is undoubtedly the most loved and the most hated man of modern Hindi theatre and we are very happy to be celebrating the work of this impetuous, infuriating, impossible and adorable maverick! Instead of going in for a retrospective model, we would like the audience to see two of Dubey’s own plays but more importantly, we would like them to revisit some of the best plays of Mumbai (selected by Dubey) and see them through his eyes. The occasion is all the more special for us because Dubey has been a part of the Prithvi story from the early beginning. I remember him inspiring, cajoling, guiding, goading, prodding, provoking and even taunting us into giving our best but being at all times, totally focused and passionate about furthering the cause of theatre. It’s such a tragedy that when such an iconic figure sits sipping chai at the Prithvi café, the youngsters of today fail to recognise him. We would like to remedy the situation.
When you plan themes for your festival, do you choose to play safe or brave?
I have never believed in playing safe nor do I consciously think of possible violent repercussions from certain sections of society. A couple of years back though, a Pakistani play was due to be performed. The Shiv Sena was in power then. We decided not to bring in the play for safety reasons and to this day I feel ashamed of my decision.
Money (or rather the lack of it) has been the pet peeve of the theatre world. What’s your take on this?
Theatre needs to thrive to sustain itself. We have such talented youngsters but there is no way they could survive only on theatre. Alternative careers are a must and this often gets in the way of single-minded commitment to the stage. Personally, I would like to ignite life into theatre and create new spaces. I would like the media, the audience and the theatre fraternity to join hands for this cause. My main concern today is about inadequate facilities.
Do you find the audience responding better to English plays or to regional language plays?
Mumbai was once known for its erudite theatre enthusiasts with a taste for European plays enacted in English. Satyadev Dubey and his ilk exploded on the scene and changed all that. Dubey breathed life into the vernacular, presenting it without ghettoing it. For Dubey, the word is of paramount importance and all that it conveys. Paradoxically, his play “C for Clown” has very few dialogues and most of them utter gibberish. And yet he gets across to the audience wonderfully; such is the power of genius. I’m deeply fascinated by the new fusion language emerging, one which uses colloquialism and popular slang with knife-edged specificity. It is also great to see modern poets like Gieve Patel handle the English language in tandem with the colloquial with such adroitness.
Having visited so many cities, which do you find is the most alive to theatre?
Each city is unique. Theatre is capable of finding an audience just anywhere, even in the middle of a desert. The thing is to get out there and lure people. Some years back, Singapore spent a colossal amount of money in building hi-tech auditoriums only to discover that they had no local talent. So they had to spend in importing talent from all over the world! The situation in Mumbai is ironically reversed. The city abounds in talent but there are no platforms to perform on. Create 10 more Prithvis and theatre will boom.
Do you feel that theatre gets marginalised by Bollywood’s towering presence?
Absolutely not! There is no comparison between films and theatre. Each exists in a separate matrix. Having said that, I do admit that, when it comes to getting sponsors and raising funds, the corporate mindset is slightly apprehensive about theatre and definitely finds films commercially viable. But we can never compete with films and don’t even attempt to do so. At Prithvi, we believe that theatre plays a serious and important role in mirroring society.
Who are your personal favourites?
Naseeruddin Shah, a million times over! I have watched him a dozen times in “Antigone” but continue to get goose pimples every time he comes on stage. I find Trishla Patel delightful and Atul Kumar just incredible.
In spite of possessing all the qualities needed to be a successful actor, you prefer to work back stage. Why?
Theatre is not a hobby but a passion. There could be no half measures. It is physically impossible to dabble in more than one aspect of theatre satisfactorily and I chose to be behind the scenes.
Your plans for the future.
I have a secret desire to have a travelling theatre company like my parents did and go gallivanting all over the country. But one lifetime, I find, is too short for so many things. Maybe in my next life…
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Magazine
