|
|
 |
 |
 Kumud Mishra
Actor
[Hindi/English Theatre ]
|
|
 Your favourite adda to see a play�
Prithvi. It is also one of the best places for an actor to perform. Yet Prithvi can make an actor indulgent. At Prithvi there is a rhythm that actors get into and feel comfortable with but this comfort zone can also make the actor lazy. The actor must be capable of working in spaces where the comfort and intimacy of Prithvi is not available. It�s a challenge to perform in spaces where the distance between the actors and the audience is considerable.
Your favourite playwright�
Tendulkar, Mohan Rakesh, Girish Karnad�Amongst the young, contemporary writers I really like Manav Kaul�s work. I also appreciate Ramu Ramanathan�s writing but I feel that as a director he can�t handle his own texts. His MAHADEVBHAI (1892-1942) is an exception and to some extent, MEDHA AND ZOOMBISH.
Your favourite play-character�
Characters that I would want to play are the protagonist from Kafka�s novella, �Metamorphosis�, Girish Karnad�s Tughlaq, the Shakespearean characters-Hamlet, Lear�I am also keen to see myself in Albert Camus� CALIGULA.
A play you would like to see filmed. Why?
LANKA LAKSHMI by Abhilas Pillai. Abhilas Pillai, who was part of our batch at the NSD, directed the play for us. The play has a very visual feel, which I think cinema can explore further.
A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? Why?
As I have said earlier, Kafka�s �Metamorphosis�. Then there is Shivaji Sawant�s �Mritunjay� but a production has already been made of it. I think Jayant Deshmukh directed it in Bhopal.
The most hilarious play you have seen�
Alok Nandan�s production of CHANDA BEDANI. I think he has also written the play. The actors were brilliant and it was a musical comedy that even had a touch of tragedy to it. But I remember laughing my head off.
A play, which is over-hyped�
According to me no play can be over-hyped. Any play, which the audience accepts has some worth. This is not to say that audiences are the ultimate judge. They too can make mistakes but ultimately it is the question of different tastes, different opinions.
An important play (but ignored):
There are so many good plays in experimental theatre that will not do well on the commercial circuit. To that extent they are all �ignored� plays.
A play character you would like to �dialogue� with�
I think I would definitely like to dialogue with the Shakespearean tragic characters. Whether it is a Hamlet, Macbeth or a Lear-all of them have problems with the women in their lives. So I would really like to find out more about that. In fact I once even considered writing a script that would bring all these characters together.
A passage from an important play that you can recite�
My problem is that I don�t remember-be it lines from a play or an event in my life. It is usually only after the second show that I begin to recollect the lines.
A classical play that you should have read�
I haven�t read much. There is a long list. I have collected many books but I am not reading them.
A play that changed your perception about the theatre�
I can�t recall plays but there are two directors who completely changed my perception of the theatre. Both Anamika Haksar and Khaled Tayabji are Delhi based and with them I learnt that theatre can well go beyond speech-into a world of images and movement.
How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene?
Brilliant. There is space here for all kinds of theatre to survive, be it commercial, experimental or something in the middle. Besides the actors here can take care of their economics by working in tele-serials and films. They are not forced to do workshops or become producers and directors. In Delhi, it is different. It is not easy there to just remain an actor.
 Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting?
I recently read an article by Utpal Dutt. He must have of course penned it a long time back. There was a particularly harsh criticism in that article about theatre practitioners who do the minimalist kind of plays. He felt that those theatre people who practice such a �poor theatre� are poor of imagination themselves. Dutt�s own productions were quite lavish and perhaps that is why the criticism. But I don�t think it�s a fair argument. I am also reading a book on acting techniques and styles. Don�t ask me the name. I don�t remember!
If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous?
Long ago while acting in a production of Satyabrat Raut�s ROSHOMON, I found myself hanging precariously mid-air. As part of a set design there was a kind of a tree-house, located way up on the stage. I was supposed to sit there and come down at the entry of two actors, playing a couple. And I had a big sword. In one of those shows I lost my balance. As a result I found myself falling down but was saved because of my sword which got hooked in the net. There was a collective gasp from the 300 odd member audience and that was something.
Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why?
There was a production of PHEDRA that a French director did with Indian actors for Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal. It was really good. For the first time I saw an imaginative transformation of space. Sand was used to cover the entire performance space. Then there was this Iranian solo performance (don�t remember the name) by a woman. She was unbelievable. A truly awesome performance.
Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer�
Actors-you have the typical names-Naseeruddin Shah�There are many others whom I recall for the performances that they gave. With an actor I feel it�s not always that one can expect a great performance. Six months down the line the same actor whom you raved about can turn out a bad performance. Naseeruddin Shah is also a director whom I would like to work with. There is Anamika Haksar whom I have earlier mentioned. A director with whom I keen to undergo training is Ratan Thiyyam. I feel his residential company is a full-fledged training ground in all aspects of the theatre. As for music, B.V. Karanth was a titan. His productions were simply great. Speaking of Karanth, his students-Amod Bhatt and Piyush Mishra have given good music. Piyush Mishra gave music to many of the Act I productions in Delhi. His music was able to emerge as a character in its own right. Robin Das is the best Indian set designer I have known to date. I think he is unparalleled.
A significant Indian production that you may have witnessed�
Quite a few. Here are the names of some productions and of the people who have directed them. B.V. Karanth�s SKANDGUPTA, Thiyyam�s CHAKRAVYUH, Alok Nandan�s CHANDA BEDANI, Waman Kendre�s ZULVA, N.K. Sharma�s JAB SEHER HAMARA SOTA HAI, Habib Tanvir�s CHARANDAS CHOR.
Life in the theatre without the humble batata-wada or the cutting chai or if you please brownies that are snuggling chocolate bits� or can you recall the best gastronomic experience you�ve had in the precincts of the theatre to date?
Bread + some cheap mixture of namkeen + chai. As student-actors in Bhopal, this was our staple diet in the theatre. We didn�t have money in our pockets so it was one of the few things that we could get. It�s the best thing I have had. Nothing romantic about it though. These days when one has some money, we indulge in things like samosas and chicken parathas.
"
|
| |
| Tell us what you think of this Theatre Speak |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
