RAJEEV SIDDHARTHA, who began his career with Dil Dosti Etc, will now be seen in Adhe Adhure on Zee Theatre. The actor speaks with SHALINI SAKSENA about his role in this theatrical, how he got into acting and upcoming projects
What is Adhe Adhure about?
It is a family drama of a somewhat dysfunctional family, one can say — there is the husband, the wife and their three children. There is a lot of conflict and nobody is happy with each other — the husband is angry with the wife, the wife with the husband and the kids don’t get along with each other and the mother. Of course, each has his reasons for this. There are many complex dynamics at play here. Mohan Rakesh who has written the play, he was a genius. When I was getting the reading of the play, the atmosphere was so charged and I thought that if this was a case just for the reading, I wondered what would happen when we would get into the skin of the character we are to play. In the end, it has a bitter-sweet ending and the play will retain its humanity for decades to come.
What is your role?
I play Ashok, the 21-year-old son — a rebellious and angst-ridden young person who can’t understand why his mother wouldn’t understand him. His mother is looking for a job for him but he wants to in his heart pursue art. He feels betrayed by his elder sister when she leaves the house with a man and Ashok feels that he has had to handle the fall-out of it. His younger sister, he feels acts in a manner that is childish and it irritates him. He thinks that he is stuck in the middle and the person whom he could turn to abandoned him. This character was brilliant to play and is a huge opportunity for me. I left my cushiony job as an investment banker to pursue acting. I could draw a parallel with Ashok since people around me wanted to know what I was thinking.
How was the experience of working with Lillete Dubey?
It was great to work with her. To get the play off the ground of such a great writer in a few months, it was beautiful. There was so much I got to learn from her and Mohan Agashe ji, he plays the father. The great thing is that one develops a process for oneself while doing theatre. We traveled all over with the play; it was amazing. Because of this play, my collaboration with Mrs Dubey has continued and I have done a lot more work with her. Theatre allows you to play roles that you may not get in films. It has helped me in my journey as an actor.
You have worked in films, theatre, for TV and web series. Is there a platform where you are most comfortable?
I actually love working at all platforms. For classics like Adhe Adhure; the writing is so strong that it feels great that even those people who have never been to a theatre can now see this teleplay; it has now been immortalised. From switching from theatre to teleplay, one has to raise one’s voice so people at the end can also hear. But on the screen, the emotions and expressions are the same but the advantage in a teleplay is that one has chances of more takes. However, one has to be honest and truthful to the character you are playing so the audience can feel what the character is feeling.
How did you get into acting?
I used to act in school and college in the plays. But I never took it seriously. It was when I was working as an investment banker, a lovely place to work at, I just had this gut feeling and that would not go away. I knew that if I wanted to work for the rest of my life, I must enjoy it. I knew the path would not be easy but I had to take it.
How did you get your first break in Dil Dosti Etc?
This film came to me when I was in college. The production team came to our college and asked who all wanted to work with us and we all did this for fun. I did it with no intentions of pursuing acting. I just completed doing Aashram (web series) with Prakash Jha and he said that ‘you were in Dil Dosti Etc as well’. It was great; he had produced that movie and now I was working on a web series directed by him.
You did Hundred and now Aashram. Can you talk about your role in these two?
In Hundred (web series), I play a racketeer, not a goon though. He looks like an office-goer. He is a simple person with morals in the right place but going about it in the wrong way. In Aashram, I play a reporter, a morally-centred character.