It was a two-hour solo highly-charged performance with an interval of just 10 minutes and actor Rakesh Bedi had done it again in his 150th show of “Massage”, a play with which the five-day ‘The Films and Theatre Society Winter Festival’, opened on Thursday evening at the Kamani Auditorium.
Bedi performed the role of a guest artiste in the 120-minute Hindustani play. Notably, he enacted as many as 24 characters in the play from a struggler in the Hindi film industry who turns a masseur in the absence of a dignified job in the industry and ends up in an old age home at the fag end of his life.
He also donned the role of an opportunist producer, a pampered heroine, her over the top mother, a minister, his henchman, a gym instructor and so on.
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“This act requires immense amount of energy because the 24 characters are different, with different voices, dialogue delivery style, temperament and connect in the society. Their voice modulation and body language has to be in consonance with the audience who is watching the show. We contemporise it according to the times we perform so that the audience can relate to them. I have been doing this solo show for 12 years across the globe. My friends in the film industry ask me to inform them about the show in advance. Shatrughan Sinha has seen this show three times, one Dr. Batra seven times,” said the actor after the performance in an interview to
On how roles tailored for comedians like him have thinned in the film industry and how many have turned to theatre as it gives them a direct connect with the audience, the actor said, “Of course theatre gives that kick that films don’t. Seeing audience live and seeing them applaud your performance, reposes one’s faith in theatre and it tells you that there is still space for everyone there. Film industry doesn’t assure that always. Films give wider publicity and money in comparison but they do not always give creative satisfaction. It loves to stereotype actors – especially comedians. Comedy roles are like add-ons – a top up in a mobile recharge. The situation hasn’t changed for years at stretch.”
A fan of Al Pacino and Amitabh Bachchan for their dedication, Bedi added, “If a person is great at comedy doesn’t mean he cannot do justice to other roles, actors like I S Johar, Kishore Kumar, Mukri, Uma Devi, Keshto Mukherjee and Mehmood Jani Walker were severely typecast. But where they got to do serious roles, they did wonders. This “Once a comedian, always a comedian” sets a bad precedent for the industry and its growth. When so much experimentation goes on in scripts these days and new actors are roped in for interesting, non-typical roles, why do they forget comedians with wisdom?”
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Yet, Bedi, an FTII alumnus, says he is “always happy”. “I don’t look at the past with regrets. It doesn’t get you anything, takes away much though.” He laughs bringing the curtain down with, “It’s my drink/relaxation time… are we done?”