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Playing tough
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Naseeruddin Shah in conversation with AYESHA MATTHAN underscores the importance of theatre in coming out against repressive regimes
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Photo: P.V. Sivakumar
Big brother Naseeruddin Shah: ‘They are now going to tell us what book to read and what not to in our own house’
After three decades in the performing arts, the glint in Naseeruddin Shah’s eyes has not faded from his silvery woolly-haired bearded face. With legs stretched out, this NSD and FTII alumnus leans back against a hard chair in the green room of
Ranga Shankara. He is in a loose buttoned down off-white kurta. He has a bandage around his neck with some fake blood smeared on it. The first performance of Jean Anouilh’s adaptation of Sophocles’ political drama “Antigone” is just over at the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2007.
It is the closing play of the festival and Ranga Shankara is teeming with theatre enthusiasts, celebrities and those who’d just come to catch a glimpse of the stalwart cast and simper for autographs. Naseeruddin curtly nods at beaming, eager fans who push papers under his nose, and he briskly signs heartfelt wishes for them.
“The crowd comes as no surprise. Bangalore has always been known for its play-lovers and theatre-productions. And all kinds of people come to watch them— from literature buffs to theatre-goers. I have been coming here since 1970 as a student of NSD and have performed various plays at Ravindra Kalakshetra.” He pauses and asks: “Is it still there?”
Talking about Ranga Shankara, he says, “It is a small theatre, just like the theatre where we first performed ‘Antigone’ at the National Centre for Performing Arts.”
Naseeruddin’s theatre group, Motley, was created along with theatre personalities Benjamin Gilani and Tom Alter 30 years ago. “‘Dear Liar’, stories in Hindustani by (Munshi) Premchand, Harishankar Parsai, Ismat Chughtai, Saadat Hasan Manto and Kahlil Gibran’s ‘Prophet’ now ‘Antigone’ are some of the plays we keep performing.” Benjamin Gilani chips in: “Hasn’t it been 16 years since you and Ratna (Pathak Shah) have been performing ‘Dear Liar’?” Naseeruddin nods.
“Antigone” was written in 1942 by Jean Anouilh “to represent the struggle of the French Resistance Movement against the forces of the Vichy government during the height of the Nazi occupation”. Naseeruddin comments: “The relevance of the play is obvious – if it isn’t, then we’ve failed to underline its emphasis.”
“We are surrounded by neighbouring countries like Burma, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and others where totalitarian regimes are suppressing the voices of the individuals.”
“And Gujarat is another extreme case where there was the recent case of an artist and his works being brutalised. I mean, they are now going to tell us what book to read and not to in our own house.” The actor had also starred opposite Sarika in “Parzania”, a film about a Parsi family affected by the Gujarat massacre, which released earlier this year.
The character he plays in “Antigone” directed by virtuoso Satyadev Dubey is King Creon. “We have to understand that ‘terrorists’ (in this case is the king) are also people with demons who have their sleepless nights for their own reasons.” He continues, “There is humanity in the villain. He has been directed or portrayed with the right amount of cold blood. Instead of making him ride across the sky, it was the director’s idea to play it like this.”
The actor and his Motley crew is planning to bring the same play to the city this December or January 2008 to a larger theatre as not too many people were able to watch it this time. About the number of amateur, slapstick theatre comedies being produced nowadays, he simply says: “To each his own. If people enjoy bedroom comedies and a few cheap, drunken dialogues delivered on a street, I can’t preach about what people should watch.” He affirms, “And as for me, I don’t go anywhere near it.”
The versatile artist said the recent plays he enjoyed watching were Vikram Kapadia’s “Romeo and Juliet” and Divya Jagdale’s “Bansuri”.
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