n an age that is overt hype and hoopla, actor-director Pankaj Kapur is refreshingly low key in talking about his work. This, even though the topic might be as significant and substantial as Kapur’s return to theatre after 20 long years. “I had been deeply involved with the stage earlier, and now, want to do some good work in it again. I want to do something with sensitivity and honesty,” he says, in a matter-of-fact fashion.
A National School of Drama graduate, Kapur has been a household name with films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron , Chameli Ki Shaadi , Maqbool , Ek Doctor Ki Maut , The Blue Umbrella , Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and TV series like Karamchand and Office Office behind him. He is now all set to do a dramatic reading of his own novella, Dopehri , this Sunday at the NCPA. He will narrate the story to the audience with the help of lights and music. Kapur and his wife Supriya Pathak (who also has her roots in theatre) are setting up their own production house, Theatron, with Dopehri as their first production.
The reasons for opting to open their innings with Dopehri were several. “I don’t need anyone’s permission to perform it since it’s my own writing. Also, it will help me interact with a live audience after a very long time. I want to test the waters with it, get a feel of how Mumbai will take to it,” says Kapur. He had informally performed the novella a couple of times earlier, once at his alma mater NSD in Delhi and then, at Chandigarh and Hyderabad. The favourable response made him opt for it as a formal launch back into theatre. Moreover, he wanted to keep things modest rather than start off with a big, time-consuming production, requiring huge infrastructure or cast. “We wanted to come back to theatre with something warm and intimate,” he says.
Kapur does admit missing theatre at times but acting, writing, directing and running a company kept him busy in the intervening years. One such creation has been Dopehri . It is about Amma Bi, a lonely woman who lives on her own in a sprawling Lucknow haveli. “It’s about her journey from loneliness to finding her self-worth, it is not a morose story but a positive, hopeful one,” says Kapur. He is most keen to gauge the response of youngsters to the text. He hopes it will help them connect with their own grandparents. In fact, the larger focus of Theatron would be to blend his own experiences with those of the youth. “They need to be engaged in literary and theatre activity,” says Kapur. However, he wants it to be a dialogue with them rather than a one-way street. He will give them a taste of his thinking and, in turn, hear their thoughts out. “We want to know what they think, the kind of work they want to see and get involved in.”
Kapur looks back at his NSD days as the most crucial ones in his life. The institute provided a certain atmosphere, grounding and experience for the actor in him to flower. It provided the right guidance for him to build himself on the job. And it’s not to do with acting alone, Kapur believes that whatever field you may be passionate about, training and education from a formal institute is very necessary. “Talent is like flood. Unless you put a dam on the water, harness it, it can destroy itself. You need to contain it in a proper way,” he says.
As an actor, Kapur has enjoyed all the three platforms: the stage for its live audience, TV for giving him a face and popularity and films for the dignity and respect he got for his roles. But despite doing more work in TV than in films between 1985 and 2003, he can’t relate to TV anymore. The formats have changed, the believability has decreased and actors are getting overexposed. The continuous work and big money in the long-running serials means no personal space for an actor, no area for him to learn and grow. The money and recognition also bring along a burn out. He also believes that an actor should not spread himself too thin but be selective in picking up roles. “You must not overuse yourself. Work sparingly so that the audience has a desire to see you,” he says. He himself doesn’t work in more than 2-3 films a year, has done just 50 films in all these years. “I didn’t want to be the regular henchman or the hero’s friend,” he says. For him, it’s the journey as an actor that is more important than the destination. “One should have the desire to learn, to expand horizons; the process should be enriching. The day an actor, any individual for that matter, thinks he knows everything, he dies.”
The director in him feels the dearth of good, contemporary Indian plays, a reason why a lot of theatre falls back on literary texts or a reinterpretation of them.
He hopes that Theatron will bring forth something fresh, both in language and thought. The idea is to make an attempt, without the fear of failure. He says, “We just want to do good work and have some fun.”
Theatron’s Dopheri premieres in Mumbai on January 17 at 4.30 pm and 8 pm at the Godrej Theatre, NCPA, followed by another show on January 23 at 8 pm at the Sophia College Auditorium.
Kapur and his wife Supriya Pathak are setting up their own production house called Theatron
