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`Nehru's persona suited me'

Veteran theatre actor Roshan Seth and Odissi danseuse Kiran Segal exchange notes on the lack of scripts, knowledgeable critics and a discerning media

PHOTO:R. V. MOORTHY

ART PANGS Roshan Seth and Kiran Segal share some common ground when it comes to criticising the world of pen and theatre

For most actors playing a legend is the thing of a lifetime since they have the opportunity to get frozen in popular perception - almost for a lifetime. Roshan Seth's characterisation of Jawaharlal Nehru in Shyam Benegal's Discovery of India series immortalised the persona, especially for those of us who have never heard or seen Nehru live.

The voice retains the slight twang and the `propah' British accent, complete with the dry and almost wry sense of humour.

His conversation is frequent and peppered with gestures to illustrate his point of view.

Unlike some actors who never stop `playing', he is completely natural - well read, his interests within the arts vary from the Kathputli to Beethoven.

Alka Raghuvanshi brings the actor together with Odissi danseuse Kiran Segal, known for a non-conformist approach to dance and life, where the attempt is to explore freedom as a matter of a given lifestyle choice rather than any obvious attempt to shock. The graceful and articulate dancer in a free wheeling conversation.

Kiran: Your portrayal of Nehru is perhaps the most remembered role in popular memory.

Roshan: Nehru's character suited me perfectly - educated, slightly anglicised, yet with a deep desire to see India at par with the rest of the world.

I must have played well, that is why it is still remembered! But the fact is that I enjoyed doing it tremendously.

Kiran: London was your home for a long time. Are you happy to be back?

Roshan: Where else can I go? I don't belong there. If I was a writer or even a musician, I may have chosen exile, but in my field, which is a collective form, it is not an option.

But there are times when I feel like a Tibetan wind chime hanging in the air, except only the birds listen to my song!

My Hindi is weak, I look like a westernised Indian, consequently roles are limited. As it is, it is difficult to get good scripts in theatre. But still, India is home.

Kiran: Sure. But in the arts, this rootedness is also of consequence. When you are the art, your entire personality comes through.

People who are sensitive can see through the art and into you. Unfortunately we don't have the objectivity to judge.

Roshan: It begins by recognising who you are, for by revealing yourself, you hope others will recognise who they are.

There is no branch of informed criticism qualified to assess. In that sense perhaps the guru might tell you to perform this way or that.

But a critic must be able to peep into the future. In that sense it is almost being forced to look 40 years ahead. And create an informed audience.

Kiran: That is where I think the media comes in.

Civilisation's marker - the arts - needs to be focussed upon and the audiences educated to to a point where `discerning audiences' doesn't remain a mere phrase.

Roshan: But my field is dead. It is a virtual comedy and a farce.

If theatre people think that Aishwarya Rai or Bipasha Basu will come down to act, then they are sadly mistaken.

Kiran: Surely it can't be that bad! But yes, theatre like the other arts must become self-sustaining to survive.

For any parasitical existence can't be expected to endure.

Roshan: We as human beings are forever trying to run away from who we are, what we are - perhaps because the truth is too ugly to confront.

Pretence is a big factor. It wouldn't be so bad if one were able to find someone who practises what they preach.

The unkindest part is that it suits everybody.

Kiran: Absolutely! It starts by being human. Where you fit into the scheme of the universe.

Roshan: Sensitivity, imagination, observation, self-knowledge and humanity are the watchwords.

It is about grace, beauty and truth. Except for a couple of women, I've not met anyone who is really beautiful.

And yet love and freedom are divergent problems.

For if you love, you can't be free. As I get older, I feel truly free from the culture that has enslaved me.

Kiran: Can one really be totally free? Or is it just part of a yearning for something that you don't have?

Roshan: In life you start to accumulate hurt and lose your innocence, which is when you also start to lose trust.

Kiran: Despite your wanting to retain it!

Life and situations leave you with little option.

Roshan: I think it is that inspired moment when one then recreates oneself. My work begins with language. Yours ends there.

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