Manjari Fadnis is a film actress, who has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films. Manjari was born in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh but grew-up in Shimla, Jammu, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune as her father was an army man. Manjari Fadnis started her career with Rok Sako To Rok Lo in 2004, but her big break, she says, was in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008). Manjari was part of the National Film award-winning Bengali feature film Faltu and also Mumbai Salsa. Her recent film is a comedy movie Kis Kisko PyaarKaroon where she is seen opposite Kapil Sharma. She will debut as a theatre actress in AGP World’s new production DOUBLE DEAL RELOADED, directed by Mahesh Dattani. The play has been revived in its new version and will be staged at the Royal Opera House on 15th and 16th December 2017.
By Deepa Punjani
Deepa Punjani (DP): It's your first time on stage. Nervous?
Manjari Fadnis (MF): Oh ya! It is unnerving for me! But I’m a bit excited too at the same time. There are no retakes on stage which is what I’m used to in films.
DP: Why did you choose to make your stage debut with DOUBLE DEAL RELOADED and with AGP World?
MF: Hahahaha. Even I don’t know why I chose such a difficult play as my debut theatre performance....On a serious note, it is a very challenging play for an actor and I saw the opportunity to grow as a performer. I had been thinking of doing theatre for some time and this opportunity came to me.
DP: How has the experience been?
MF: In short, extremely enriching and creatively fulfilling - especially getting the opportunity to learn from a Director of the calibre of Mahesh Dattani. Also Bharat (Dabholkar) is so much fun to work with and so down to earth.
DP: Why do you think audiences should come and watch the play?
MF: It’s an edge of the seat thriller. The audience will be glued right till the end. Also there are always so many comedies in theatre but I don’t remember a good thriller on stage in a very long time. So this will be something fresh when it comes to this genre in Indian theatre.
DP: What has been your greatest takeaway working on this play?
MF: So much...there are two characters on stage in this eighty minutes long play. So you cannot lose focus on your character or body language even for a second during the play. It’s a completely different experience for me as compared to films. I have learnt a lot from Mahesh Sir and from Bharat. I cannot conclude this in few words.
DP: Will we be seeing more of you on stage in other plays?
MF: Absolutely....But let’s first start with this. Look forward to seeing you at the Royal Opera House.