Contrary to his comic image, Atul Parchure essays a serious role in the latest Marathi play WAH GURU! directed by Vijay Kenkre. A play about a terminally ill Professor and his student - that extols the virtues of life and urges everyone to adopt a positive attitude. Running to full houses, the play brings back Parchure and Dilip Prabhawalkar together in a thought-provoking act. Parchure evaluates the inspirationalplay in this interview with Mumbai Theatre Guide  Deepa Ranade How did you land this serious role, considering that you are a celebrated comic actor? In a way both of us - Prabhawalkar and I - are typecast as comic actors. So our serious avtaar in WAH GURU! comes as a surprise to us as well as the audience. But we are enjoying the play and likewise the audience. Wah Guru! was originally to be directed by Girish Joshi and then they were to cast local actors from Pune along with Dilip Prabhawalkar. But Girish got busy looking after his wife Rasika and so the play came to Vijay Kenkre. Then the whole set-up changed and it became a Mumbai based production. That's when I landed in it quite accidentally. We staged our first show at the European Convention in Zurich. Any particular reason for opening the play at the European Convention? Dilip Prabhawalkar had read Mitch Album's Tuesdays With Maurie long ago and he always wanted toadapt it to a play. But everyone was skeptical about it as this is a serious subject. The producer wanted to stage it at the European Convention to take a cue from there before staging it professionally. It worked out to be big hit in Zurich.Initially, the plan was to stage five shows a month back home but the overwhelming response we received in Zurich encouraged us to perform it professionally. We may not be putting up 30 shows a month like SAHI RE SAHI but we are staging as many as 12 shows in a month - which is great achievement for a serious play like this. Though the backdrop of the play is grave, the outlook is positive- that's what appeals to the audience. What has been the most challenging aspect of WAH GURU!? I guess the opening show in Zurich posed a bit of a challenge since there were no sets and we had to perform in a banquet hall. As the sun sets late during summers in Europe - Prabhawalkar could be seen walking to and fro from his wheelchair in between scenes. For the lack of sets, we could also not show different locales. However the script is so powerful that nobody minded. Were you nervous to be pitched opposite an accomplished actor of Dilip Prabhalwalkar's caliber? We had worked together 20 years ago in two plays - NATTHI BUDDHI and VASUCHI SAASU -so I never felt any pressure working with him. Quite the contrary, his presence helped me a lot. As you are aware, through the play the ailing professor has a huge range of acting shades to display in terms of voice modulation and physicality. Whereas apparently I just have to stand and deliver my lines. But my character is also changing on several fronts - emotional, personal and professional. What makes Prabhawalkar an evolved actor is the fact that he's an absolutely secure actor. He never lets his aura overshadow his co-stars. He is down-to- earth and approachable and he puts you at complete ease. Did you meet any MND patients while preparing for your role? Not really. We didn't have to get into the medical nuances as the play has been written by Dr. Phansalkar, who is a medical practitioner himself - we stayed assured on that front. Now 30 shows down - we have had no complaints - so looks like we are cruising along fine. WAH GURU! dispenses philosophy of life.Have you been able to assimilate some of it in your life? I have learnt a lot as an actor from this play. As for philosophy lessons - I have understood much of it but it will take a while to implement it in life. Prof. Sapre considers himself to be lucky because he knows when he's going to die. So he can makes amends and rectify his mistakes. It is a positive philosophy which tells you to overcome your anger, grudges and prejudices right here, right now because there is no way you can make amends later. You should die with no regret. That's the essence of the play. Be prepared for the D- Day! Which is your favourite line in the play? My favourite line is when the Prof explains why we should think about death everyday even though it will come at the end: "Death is not the end but when death comes we call it the end." Which is the most overwhelming compliment you have received so far for the play? An old couple came and met us backstage after the play, thanking us profusely for rejuvenating their desire for living life afresh. They said "We thought we had nothing to look to forward to as an old couple but after watching the play - we realize there is so much to do in life." Having done three 'Hinglish' plays with Bharat Dabholkar - OH NO NOT AGAIN, FUNNY THING CALLED LOVE and MONKEY BUSINESS - what would you say is the difference between that and Marathi theatre? The difference is in the attitude. Bharat Dabholkar has a fun attitude. He wants to entertain the audience - and most of his shows are corporate shows. So the attitude is casual. But the Marathi audience has high expectations and we have to live up to those. What are your forthcoming acting projects? I am doing a couple of films - Marathi-Hindi bilingual Kashala Udyachi Baat / Chhodo Kal Ki Baaten by a Pune based director, Pramod Joshi. It features Anupam Kher for the first time in a Marathi film along with Sachin Khedekar and Mrinal Kulkarni. There are two more Hindi films lined up. Finally, what is your resolution for this New Year? Probably to do Hindi films and make more money! I get enough creative satisfaction from my play but it's the money I want.... *Deepa Ranade is a film and theatre reviewer. 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Interview 2 Timira Gupta Jyoti Dogra Lillette Dubey Mahesh Dattani Chandan Roy Sanyal Sunil Shanbag (ii) Jairaj Patil Jehan Manekshaw K Raja Ravi Verma Sankar Venkateswaran Heisnam Tomba Hariharan Jamini Pathak Hilda David Satish Alekar Vir Das Ranjit Hoskote Om Katare Nipun Dharmadhikari Satyadev Dubey Dipan Ray Stefan Kaegi Zafar Karachiwala Dakxin Bajrange Makarand Sathe Ramu Ramanathann Cyrus Dastur Shekhar Sen Benjamin Juhel Chaitanya Tamhane And Sudeep Modak Sujata Mehta Asif Basra Barry John Nagesh Bhosale Astad Deboo Manhar Gadhia Sandesh Bhandare Usha Ganguli Sushama Deshpande & Suhas Joshi Jyoti Vyas Arundhati Nag Habib Tanvir Ramu Ramanathan Pushan Kripalani Harold Pinter Rajeev Ravindranathan Rajendra Gupta Viji Iyengar Sunil Shanbag Darshan Jariwalla Smriti Irani Atul Kumar1 Ashwin Gidwani Toral Shah Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal1 Shaili Sathyu Sanjay Narvekar Rohini Hattangady Dr. Ashok Ranade Vandana Sajnani Mahesh Elkunchwar Madhu Rye Mahesh Thakur Srimathi Madiman Kinnari Vohra Joy Fernandes C.K. 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