In Kalki's living room

Two years ago, Kalki Koechlin shared a cup of tea with me, as we both sat cross-legged on the floor. She was taking a break from rehearsing for Manav Kaul’s play Colour Blind and that day, I got a chance to observe Kalki, as an actor on stage. She was not very different from how I’ve found her in her film roles – intense, dedicated and a delight to watch.

A few months ago, the roles were reversed. A few days ahead of her directorial debut in theatre - The Living Room’s premiere in Bengaluru - I observed her, as she sat on a chair with her legs on the table in front of her, watching her actors rehearse. She remained quiet all throughout, letting them fumble, remember their lines and carry on.

Later, she sat cross-legged on the floor of the rehearsal room at Laxmi Industrial estate in Andheri, and examined her little toe which she had hurt a few days ago, as she waited for her actors to settle down around her. Sheeba Chaddha had left immediately after the rehearsal was over, but the others — Jim Sarbh, Tariq Vasudeva and Neil Bhoopalam — were ready for their feedback, and settled down near her. “Guys, you forgot your lines too many times today. You have to read the script at home,” she told them, as they looked suitably chastised.

By the time you read this, Kalki’s directorial stage debut, The Living Room, would have been staged at Bengaluru, and in Delhi, and is ready to be shown at Mumbai’s NCPA Centrestage festival which starts on November 27.

She told us she was glad that she didn’t have a film on hand to divert her attention from the play. “I would have gone nuts if that was the case. As it is, I have grown old in the past one month with all the stress,” she had said with a laugh.

Death brings meaning to life

She had written a play earlier, titled Skeleton Woman, but had left the direction to someone else. “This time, I wanted to direct. I guess I’m a bit of a control freak,” she laughed. Earlier titled A play on Death, Kalki changed the title to The Living Room, but was not sure where the idea of the play came from. “It’s a conversation between an old woman and Death. The dilemma, which it explores, is that does one live their life fully because life is so short or do you live life depressed because you will eventually die. Along with that is the idea that if you had that one extra day to live, what would you do with it. Death, in a way, brings meaning to life,” she added.

It might sound like a lot of philosophizing, but just as life can be either uplifting or depressing, the play too has heightened moments of sadness and happiness. And because she’d been told umpteen times about similarities between her play and Woody Allen’s Death Knocks, Kalki went ahead and read it. “The only similarity I found is that death plays a bumbling character in both the plays, but what eventually happens is different,” she revealed.

Taking inspiration from directors

Tariq, one of the actors from the cast, believes she is very patient as a director. “I guess I can be sympathetic to the position of the actors in terms of the frustration they feel when they are exploring a character, because I know what it is not knowing what you’re doing on stage,” said the actor who’s studied drama and theatre from the University of London and also acted in a number of plays.

Directors such as Rajat Kapoor, Atul Kumar and Rehaan Engineer have influenced her directing skills, said the first-time director. “Rajat always says that one should let the actor’s exploration period be as long as possible. From Atul, I’ve learnt about the specificity of movement. And while I haven’t worked with Rehaan, I’ve seen how he works and pays attention to the text and the intention of the grammer,” she said.

Would she act in a play directed by her, we were curious to know. “It would depend entirely on the kind of play it is. If it’s a monologue, then I can do it, but an ensemble play like this would be impossible,” she said.

All we can say is, we can’t wait to watch what this talented actor and director has in store for us, when the play is staged on November 29 at NCPA.
    

Much love

The Art Addict

PS: The Art Addict is no fan of James Bond but when it comes to the other Bond - Ruskin, she would like her name to be mentioned on top of the fan list. And so, she is super pleased to know that Penguin India has recently announced that the speaker for their Penguin Annual Lecture 2015 would be the much-loved author. The event would be held in the capital in mid-December.                              

A tale of two actors

Over the weekend, we got a chance to hear two of the finest actors theatre has gifted us – Rajit Kapur and Ratna Pathak Shah.

They could not have been from more different backgrounds. While Ratna’s mother Dina Pathak and aunt Tarla Mehta were both veterans in Gujarati theatre and the actress can’t recall a time when acting and stage wasn’t a part of her life, Rajit’s father mocked him openly when the young man declared that he wanted to join the National School of Drama.  “Have you seen your face in the mirror? Hangar jaisi shakl hai!” Rajit recalled the exact words his father had said to a somewhat amused audience.

The actor never ended up going to the NSD. Ratna, on the other hand, did and is grateful for the technical-knowhow, history of theatre and other lessons she learnt there. “NSD didn’t make me an actress, though it did make me a better theatre person,” she remarked.

Formal education or not, the two actors have, over the years, managed to leave a mark on all the mediums they have explored, be it theatre, television or films. Some of Rajit’s memorable stage performances include Class of 84, Love Letters, Me Kash and Cruise and Flowers, while his portrayal of detective Byomkesh Bakshi in the serial by the same name had shopkeepers downing their shutters early in order to catch the show at 9 pm on Thursdays. The film, Making of the Mahatma, earned him a National Award in 1995.

As for Ratna, the actress’ name is synonymous with acclaimed plays such as Ismat Aapa Ke Naam, Dear Liar and Antigone. Her portrayal of the snooty Maya Sarabhai in the popular comedy show Sarabhai V/S Sarabhai, is still talked about. Though she has played roles in movies such as Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and Khoobsurat, the actress says that her best in movies is yet to come. 

It was interesting to know that when faced with different mediums, both Ratna and Rajit don’t change the way they approach the character. “At the basic level, acting remains the same. The difference arises because of the space and the actor has to adapt to that. You have to do it, to understand it, to feel it,” said Rajit.

It takes a lot of self-assessment, however painful, to reach where they are. And Ratna believes that more than depending on others’ opinions about your work, self-assessment is something which is non-negotiable for an actor. “You have to know why you like what you do or what you did not like about your performance,” she told the audience, while Rajit admitted to being his harshest critic.

At the end of the discussions, an eager audience waited patiently to fire some more questions at their favourite actors. Good decision, we thought, you wouldn’t get another chance like this soon!

Much love

The Art Addict

PS: The Celebrate Bandra Festival starts today and it would be a shame if you gave up the chance to miss the open air art classes, music events, theatre shows and more, which the organisers have planned for the next five days. The Art Addict will be going for sure, will you be there? 

The theatrewallahs

What is theatre?

Is it the pin-drop silence that we hear as soon as the curtains go up on the stage? Is it the spotlight falling on the actor’s face as he readies to deliver a dialogue? Is it the props or the story or the stagecraft?

Theatre is, because theatrewallahs are. If not for them, who would be the one managing the lights? Who would sound the gong for the play to begin? Who would spend sleepless nights writing the dialogues which would make the audience smile, laugh, cry or cheer? Who would go up on that small stage and light it up with their magical performances?

Nowhere in Mumbai does the beauty and the passion of the theatrewallahs come alive than at the opening night of the Prithvi Theatre Festival. To see Makrand Deshpande walk around as if he owns the place (his long-long association with Prithvi Theatre merits him that!), to see Gulzar make his humble entry only to be surrounded by young theatre enthusiasts eager to speak to the veteran poet and writer and to watch delightedly as the traditional lamp is lit and the gong sounded to mark the launch of yet another successful festival edition – this is only possible in a place like Prithvi!

Shashi Kapoor, who set up this theatre years ago in the memory of his father Prithviraj Kapoor, may not step out of the house because of his health issues but unfailingly, he comes to light the traditional lamp every year. Every actor, director or writer, for whom Prithvi is nothing less than a second home (and for some, almost their first!), pay their respects to the veteran actor before they proceed towards the performance.

This year, just like every year, the theatre decked itself in bright lights and waited for the theatrewallahs to arrive, and they did! Makarand was there, of course. We also spotted Lubna Salim, Lillete Dubey, Akash Khurana, Shabana Azmi, Akarsh Khurana, Naseeruddin Shah, Alyque Padamsee, Ratna Pathak Shah, Feroz Khan, Trishla Patel and Divya Jagdale. With every passing year, Prithvi adds a new gamut of actors and performers to its repertoire and so, we also noticed Kunal Kapoor (of Rang De Basanti) who's making his theatre debut with The Hoshruba Repertory's Ek Punjab Ye Bhi. He might just get addicted, more power to theatre!

The play for the opening night was Indian Ensemble’s Kaumudi, and Makrand invited Naseeruddin Shah to do the honours of launching yet another edition of the festival by speaking a few words, but Naseer being Naseer, preffered to clap his hand and set the ball rolling. The audience sat riveted as actor Kumud Mishra became the heart and soul of the play, with his performance of an ageing actor and of a father who is a stranger to his own son.The gathering of theatrewallahs continued to make merry once the play was over, catching up with each other over some delicious food. For the next few days, they would be busy, rehearsing and putting up shows for a loyal audience. But for now, they had each other’s company, under the canopy of Prithvi Theatre.

Much love
The Art Addict

P.S: For the first time this year, Prithvi Fest is introducing Udayswar, a curated early morning musical event. The good news is that Prithvi intends to make this a monthly affair, featuring different classical musicians each time.