It’s the story of our times. Abhay, a successful ad filmmaker, feels frustrated at work. He’s got a complex thinking of the much-respected documentary filmmaker Sathe. Abhay earns good money but doesn’t get that kind of respect. He carries his frustration home and vents his anger on his wife Salma. Abhay’s complex slowly takes a toll on their relationship. “The idea of the play Iss Kambakth Sathe Ka Kya Karein? is about a person who has a complex and is in a never-ending struggle to prove himself,” points out Zeeshan Ayyub. The theatre-cum-film actor was in the city to stage the play as part of Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation’s first edition of ‘Theatre Weekend’. The play features Zeeshan in the title role and is directed by his wife Rasika Agashe, who also plays his screen wife.
An NSD (National School of Drama) graduate, Zeeshan has made a mark in Hindi cinema with films like Raanjhanaa and Raees , but his heart remains in theatre. After a busy stint in Bollywood, he has taken a break. “It was a conscious decision. For more than two-and-a-half years, I was not able to do any play because of my film commitments. I realised that if I am not able to take time out for a play now, I will never be able to do it. I decided to take a five-month break,” he reveals. During this time, he has acted in two plays. While Iss Kambakth... is his second play and their home production, the first one was Ghanchakkar , based on the movie Angoor . “I played the role of Sanjeev Kumar from the movie; it was entertaining. I’ve been looking forward to work with Gulzar saab since I was a child,’ he shares.
Zeeshan remarks how stage gives him the creative inspiration and he would never want to miss out on that. “A stage is an actor’s medium whereas a film is a director’s medium. If an artiste wants to get satisfaction, hone one’s skills and understand an idea, one has to be on stage. All the acting theories speak about ‘being there, in the moment and taking the journey’. When you do a play, you take that journey. Otherwise, one just catches a moment and it goes off,” he states and points out that it’s important for an actor to feel alive on a stage. “Theatre helps an artiste to understand a character, create a graph and get first-hand response of what is working and what is not. That is when you feel like a magician. Ask any actor and he/she will agree about the power of performance on stage. With your acting skills, you can make the audience laugh, cry or whatever you want them to do. Artistes will look out for this kind of power when they are performing on stage.”
Zeeshan’s wife Rasika is also from NSD and does only theatre. With two artistes living under a roof, is there a clash of ideas? “As an actor, one goes through many ups and downs. It might not be career wise, but sometimes one feels emotionally low. If your partner is from the same field, then it’s a major advantage and that is what we have,” he smiles and shares how the couple complement each other through their highs lows. Since Rasika is also the director of the play, there were disagreements too. “I disagree with her as an actor and it doesn’t stay in the rehearsal room; it comes home,” he laughs.
His future projects includes Salman Khan’s Tubelight, releasing later this year. “I have also done an independent film titled Sameer, premièring at New York Indian Film Festival on May 6; There are plans to release it in July,” he states and concludes, “Sometimes I feel I do not get the kind of characters that I want to do; there are ups and downs in life.”
