Saurabh Shukla is back in Delhi with his play 2 To Tango 3 To Jive, which recently completed 50 shows. In a chat with Shrabasti Mallik, he lists his reasons for theatre gradually becoming an elite medium
He has appeared in many shows on television and in small yet significant roles in many movies but what comes to mind when we meet him is his character Tapasvi maharaj, the self-claimed godman from pk. Unlike the stern and unrelenting character that he portrayed in the movie, the man is sweet, charming and an eloquent speaker. He attributes his oratory skills to the many years he has dedicated to theatre. From 1984 till 1993, he was committed to Delhi theatre before his career took flight in Mumbai with a role in a Doordarshan show Tehkikaat. Then for 18 years, he kept himself busy with Bollywood. “It was only two years ago that I realised that I had earned enough recognition on television and films and that it was time for me to return to the stage,” shares the actor with a twinkle in his eyes.
Following the decision, he took a three-month break where he wrote the play 2 To Tango 3 To Jive, inspired by Neil Simon’s last of the Red Hot lovers. The play was first staged at Kamani Auditorium in Delhi two years ago and after completing 50 shows, it is being staged here again. “The golden jubilee of the play was staged in Mumbai and was attended by few of the big names in the industry. But I decided to bring it here now because Kamani is the place where I first staged it and Delhi is where my dreams were born. It is like a full circle,” says Shukla who plays the lead character Parmender Singh Sethi in the play. He explains, “The play is about relationships which people normally do not talk about. We live in an orthodox society and call ourselves traditional but behind the curtains we indulge in extra marital affairs and multiple relationships. Even if we don’t involve ourselves, we fantasise about it which, by the protocol of the society, we do not discuss.” 2 To Tango 3 To Jive, which will be staged tomorrow, chronicles the journey of Sethi, who is going through a mid-life crisis. He has a great restaurant, a loving family, money and is successful. Everything is perfect for him and perfect is boring and he soon realises that he is missing out on something. “He feels this emptiness, which is a constant truth in modern life. You may be surrounded by everything yet find yourself lonely and it is normal to try and fill the gap by doing different things. At times you want to break away from the society and its norms to have some excitement. This man comes in contact with three women who agree to have a relationship with him,” says Shukla, the director of the play.
What follows next is how the man, in search of a few moments of love, encounters three women with different views on life. He ultimately finds himself in a confused state. “The play is funny and it will titillate the audience but it also has an underlying message. The views and opinion of all the three women are so different from one another that it bewilders Sethi and at the end he breaks down completely and asks why people cannot be simple in their thoughts. The play is largely about how people in a society complicate things and put taboo on certain issues,” he says.
like theatre veterans Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah, Shukla, too, believes that theatre is not a well-paying profession. He shares, “Today, theatre has become a medium of the elite. When we make a film, there is a lot of investment into it but it can have multiple prints so the range of the audience is much bigger than you can imagine. Pk had a 4,000 print release. Theatre is just about one show, maximum two shows at one place.” He also adds that sometimes the cost of booking an auditorium alone is about Rs1 lakh. The prices go up with the additional cost of lights, sets, costumes, sound and actors. What annoys Shukla is people asking for free passes for a play, while they spend a big amount to watch a movie. “Owing to the high charges, we are bound to keep ticket prices high and if people keep asking for free passes, how will one generate revenue from thatIJ I have personally faced this many times. This is one big problem which theatre and theatre actors continue to face till date. Many places in Europe have state funded theatres whereas we just have one National School of Drama. How can people expect theatrics to surviveIJ” he points out.
There has been an ongoing debate about whether theatre produces better actors. The 52-year-old actor believes that theatre polishes an actor because “it demands more attention.” In theatre one is constantly rehearsing a role for weeks, even months, which is much longer a preparation time than what one gets for a movie. He explains, “In a film you have to grab the role and while in front of the camera you cannot rehearse it so much. You have to be prepared. Theatre is a great medium for learning. It is like an institution in itself. However, it does not mean that all actors from theatre are great and the rest are bad. There are some great actors who are not from theatre.”
Shukla is still riding high on the success of pk but in the meantime he has also finished three films. His first release of the year will be Prakash Jha’s Fraud Saiyan, alongside Arshad Warsi. “We are in the lead,” he informs. He has also patched up with I Am Kalam director Nila Madhab Panda for Kaun Kitne Paani Mein, which is “a social satire and relevant to the time we are living in.” His last release of the year will be Sudhir Mishra’s Aur Devdas where he will be seen as the main antagonist. “And if everything goes well, we may start shooting for Jolly llB 2 by the end of the year,” concludes Shukla who is looking forward to a satisfying year.