Tom Alter is probably the only actor in India who has played diverse historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Rabindranath Tagore, Mirza Ghalib, Saadat Hasan Manto, K.L. Saigal, Sahir Ludhianvi, Aurangzeb and Bahadur Shah Zafar on stage.
Now, he brings alive each of them as part of Jashn-e-Mazi , a one-of-its kind theatre festival that celebrates history. As part of this festival, which is under way in Mumbai, 17 plays including Ghalib, Dozakhnama (where Manto and Ghalib talk to each other from their graves) , Maulana Azad (celebrating the life and times of the political leader) and Saahir - A Tribute (remembering the great poet and lyricist) are being staged . Each of these productions features the 66-year-old Alter delivering flawless, nuanced performances and sees him familiarising the audiences with these personalities’ philosophies.
Acting milestones
During a telephonic interview, the actor greets me with his trademark baritone. When I ask him how it feels to get into the skin of so many well-known individuals, he laughs and says, “It’s been an absolutely fantastic experience being a part of this festival and enacting so many diverse characters on stage. The criterion of Jashn-e-Mazi was that the plays had to be based on actual historical characters.
“The credit has to be given to these people that they have done something in history that we remember them, even today after hundreds of years. If they hadn’t done something great in their lives, we wouldn’t be doing plays on them so many years later. If Tagore had not written something beautiful in 1900 and Ghalib hadn’t penned beautiful verses in 1840, why would we remember him in 2017? So, these people are the heroes of the festival. I’m only the messenger who is bringing their philosophies to the viewers.”
He adds that acting in a play is akin to reading a good book. “You learn many things about yourself. Why is it that we enjoy reading some books and don’t like the others? That’s because those books strike a chord with you. The personalities that I’m playing have touched me in some way or the other in my entire life,” he says. The actor having grown up hearing about Einstein, Tagore, Ghalib, Ludhivanvi and Maulana Azad, says that this his way of paying tribute to them. “This is how I perceive them in my imagination.”
Alter’s fascination with historical characters started when he played Maulana Azad in 2002 in a play directed by Dr. Sayeed Alam (founder of Delhi-based Pierrot’s Troupe). Fifteen years later, he still continues to enthrall audiences with his performance of the charismatic political leader in the same production. He says, “Amongst all the characters that I have played till date, Maulana Azad is very close to my heart. It has been a huge challenge to portray him onstage.”
After having an illustrious career spanning several decades in films, television and theatre and playing multitudes of characters, Alter is still raring to go. “I have never played Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. They are fascinating characters and I want to enact them in the future.”
Few know that Alter was one of the founding members of Naseeruddin Shah’s theatre group Motley Productions along with Benjamin Gilani in 1977. He is impressed with the current theatre scene where a lot of original Indian works are being penned by young playwrights. “Right now, in Mumbai apart from my festival, two historical plays are being staged: Mughal-e Azam and Gandhi The Musical . People have always been intrigued by history. If you look at my 17 plays in Jashn-e-Mazi , all of them are original Indian plays. They aren’t adaptations. Similarly, if you look at today’s movies, we are doing original stories and the music being composed are all contemporary works. Right now, we are going through a phase where we are celebrating being Indian and that is simply beautiful.”
Alter, who was born in Mussoorie to Christian missionary parents, realised cinema was his calling after watching the Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore-starrer, Aradhana (1969). He came to Mumbai and started his career in films with Ramanand Sagar’s Charas (1976) and followed it up with Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), Dev Anand’s Des Pardes (1978) and Manoj Kumar’s Kranti (1981). He has also been a prominent face on Indian television. He admits that he never looks back at his career and doesn’t like to bask in the glory of his achievements nor have any regrets. “I like to enjoy each day as it comes. This has always been my ideology and I continue to follow it even today.”
Jashn-e-Mazi is on at Y.B. Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, at
6 p.m. and 9 p.m. till April 2.
See bookmyshow.com for details
