Bollywood and Television actor Rakesh Bedi known for his memorable roles in Chashme Buddoor film and in television serials like Shrimaan Shrimati, Yes Boss, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Hum Sab Ek Hai serials denotes ‘Theatre’ to ‘Akhada’, the practice ground for wrestlers.
“Theatre is important because it is Akhada for artists. Though there is not much income in this field but it gives an artist the scope to polish and try luck in films and daily soaps. It is the base of acting. However, in the present scenario this field is not attractive for many artists. Only few of them opt for roles in theaters,” he told The Pioneer on Saturday.
The actor along with his 20 member team comprising senior artists Avtar Gill, Bharat Kapoor and Poonam Jha is at Ranchi to perform on ‘Taj Mahal ka Tender’ comedy hindi show based on the difficult situations that Shahjahan would have faced if he wanted to set up a Taj Mahal in today’s corrupted ambience. It is scheduled from 4 pm to 6 pm and 7 pm to 9pm at Ram Dayal Munda Auditorium on Sunday.
Kapoor is playing the role of Shahjahan. Gill and Bedi are portraying as middleman and cop in this play.
The three artists together felt the need of regular theatre shows across the nation like Mumbai city. “We are here to promote the concept of theatre acting so that the local artists and audience can get a platform to learn about the relevance of this live-culture oriented presentation,” Gill said.
Supporting Gill, Bedi mentioned, “We have performed this show about 125 times at Prithvi theatre in Mumbai. All the shows were houseful. Another is planned at the same venue within few days. We expect the similar response from small cities as well. Then only the tradition of theatre acting can sustain.”
“We would request the public to watch a play by purchasing tickets and not through passes. The cost of the ticket is the sole revenue generation to we artists and organizers. Even our family members follow this trend to watch our own performances,” added Bedi, an alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India cum Filmfare Award winner for comic role.
Distinguishing movies from theatres, Kapoor said, “In Theatre the acting and production is live. So, there is no chance of second take. But, in movies there are several takes to edit an actor’s performance.”
“What differs this “Taj Mahal ka Tender’ is that it comes under the genre of Indian People’s Theatre Association considered best by majority of Indians,” Bedi said.
Gill who was a co-actor in Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini starrer ‘Bhagwan’ movie will next be seen in Subhash Ghai’s directed movie ‘Double the Trouble’ with Dharmendra. His Marathi film ‘Jat James Bond’ will be released this April 25. A Gujarati movie besides Colors channel’s programme ‘Ghaplu and Banta’ is on the list of his yet to release events.
Rakesh had signed an agreement with F Rehman on Friday at Panchmani and will be going for another film shoot in the next month. Also, he is focusing on two plays and few comedy daily soaps.
Asked on why he quit from ongoing comedy programmes in SAB TV, he said, “It is time to devote on theatres, the place from where I began my career.”
Concluding this media interaction, Bedi said, “This Taj Mahal ka Tender will exist as long as corruption prevails in our society. Though we have completed more than a decade with 200 shows of this play across India and overseas but it still touches the hearts of people due to its comedy based corrupted scene presentation.”