From the waiter, driver, cleaner to the rest staff at the Taj Mahal hotel, all want a photograph with pot-bellied Saurabh Shukla, who loves the way he looks. “It fetches me roles, you know”, says the actor-playwright-director with a laugh, admitting he is an “impulsive foodie”.
Popularly known as “Kallu mama” for his role in Satya and the indomitable judge in Jolly LLB , for which he won a National Award last year, Saurabh was here as jury member for the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META). “I always wanted to be rich. My idea of being rich was someone transporting me for free, feeding me, accommodating me and showing me plays day and night. This is what happened at META. But I soon realised there is nothing like a free lunch. I had to watch plays day and night, and judge them too. They made me work really hard,” he said in speech at the event, prompting laughter and applause from the audience.
Saurabh, who entered films because plays didn’t earn enough for him to “live a better life”, spoke to The Hindu about his struggle. “For 18 years, I stayed away from theatre because I wanted to live a dignified life; films, therefore, were the only option for me. But for past two years, I have returned to theatre and dedicated my time to my play Two to Tango, Three to Jab . We are now celebrating its golden jubilee.”
Saurabh, who won hearts as the policeman in Barfi , asserts theatre is no longer a bechara thing. If it is, then the theatre groups too must be blamed for it. “After I saw 10 plays as the jury member, I was pleasantly surprised to see how small groups across the nation are putting their heart and soul into theatre. It made me realise that if theatre groups pull up their socks, work hard, and stop bickering about lack of commercial gains, there is no looking back. Just look at Gujarati and Marathi plays. The groups that stage these plays have bought their own flats in a city like Mumbai. But theatre in Delhi has not reached that position yet.”
Endorsing the idea of corporate groups entering creative spaces, the 52-year-old says: “I remember Anand Mahindra saying: ‘The relationship between theatre and business is very deep. When we sell a product, we don’t sell an object only, but a story behind it too’. I agree with him.” However, he said, corporate groups should employ “creative-businessmen” who are able to strike a balance.
“In Europe, there are courses in theatre, film and production marketing. If a few Indians do them, we will reach the zenith fast. Theatre cannot be popularised by activism and seminars alone.”
