How often do we come across theatre artistes who combine a physical comedy act which has mime, acrobatics, songs and improvisations? Rupesh Tillu with his ‘EnFlightenment’ performance on Saturday showed how theatre can engage audience in an entertaining way and yet be poignant and thoughtful. “It is a depth of madness which people will witness,” states Rupesh, a few hours before the show. Rupesh was in Hyderabad for Park’s New Festival by Prakriti Foundation.
The theatrical piece ‘Enflightenment’ is based on true events of his travel. “I was 23 when I first sat in a plane. After that I have travelled to four continents,” shares Rupesh. The show has a touch of philosophy and raises questions too. “There is a proverb which says, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.’ Travel helps you to reflect and understand about life. You begin to reflect on yourself about who you are and what is your purpose to think about the society as to who we are all together and what our purpose is,” he explains.
After living in Sweden for ten years, Rupesh moved back to India only last year. “I am still on the run,” he says with a laugh while recalling his childhood when he moved 18 times in 16 years! “I am a by-product of the mill strike at Mumbai in the 80s. My parents worked in Swastik Shikakai and one day it just shut. Everybody kept moving and I never had a house. I grew up in different places,” he recollects. Rupesh’s father was born in Girgaon, South Mumbai, the hub of theatre. “He couldn’t afford to buy tickets but would take us to places where theatre was performed outdoors,” he exclaims and recalls the first time he saw a theatre performance. “I was very small, may be 5 years old and when I went on the stage, I was running and touching the actors and props kept on the stage.”
Rupesh believes theatre has a purpose to it. “There is a kick when you get on to the stage but it is not an ego-centric exercise. There is a purpose and the object is to tickle the audience’s imagination, tell them where we stand. The mission is not just entertainment,” he exclaims. Rupesh loves challenges and theatre gives scope to test him. “I remember as a kid when people asked me ‘what will you be when you grow up,’ I would say actor”, he exclaims and adds, “Theatre gives an opportunity to help you visualise. In films you can show Taj Mahal but in theatre, you can point towards an empty space and coax people to think creatively. Theatre artistes are storytellers. Let them tell it in their own way.”
Rupesh calls his theatre a blend of many things.
“I like to engage the audience in a comedy but the shows also ask spiritual questions – ‘Are we the conscience or the bacteria present in our body acting as it wants us to?’
Rupesh, who is open to do films also acted in Ship of Theseus , for “Anand is a friend from college.” He wonders in a big country like ours, why we do not have National School of Drama in every state.
“Every country takes its own time to create a generation of people who don’t have to run after food. Great writers come from middle class who question. The state has to invest in people. We have to encourage actors and writers and create a gene pool which will have at least 10,000 names,” he concludes.
