Imparting theatrical knowledge

In order to impart knowledge and to interact with young theatre enthusiasts, ‘Living Legend series - face to face’- an interactive session was held on February 2 in the national Capital. 

The second edition of the interaction session, which is also a part of ‘Bharat Rang Mahotsav’, was inaugurated by legendary actor Nana Patekar and scholar Dr Kapila Vatsyayan. The series consisted of an interactive session where eminent personalities get to interact with the students and audience. 

Nana Patekar shared his journey from stage to the big screen. He said: “The beginning of any journey is struggling, so be calm. If you are making mistakes, it is blessing in disguise.”  Listening to the doubts and fears of new theatre talents, Nana Patekar shared some essential sources of his acting skills about theatre after carefully listening to the doubts and inhibitions of the young. 

Sharing his unfathomable attachments with the farmer families of Maharashtra, he said: “I can read faces. They are expressionless at times.”

The interaction was very unconventional since he sat at the stairs, surrounded by the students, and shared many lighter moments. Audience got a chance to witness another side of Nana Patekar with lots of humour mixed with seriousness messages.

Confessing his love for the theatre, Nana Patekar stated: “Theatre is special because there is so much new to do every day at stage. What you performed yesterday is gone, what you will perform next day will be something entirely new. You can wear a new blanket of emotions every day.” Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, eminent scholar, author and researcher, started the session by her deep rooted association with NSD as she said: “National School of Drama is established at historical soil and I am related to it since its inception.” 

Stating the value of basic cognition about an art, Dr Vatsyayan said, “I was taught every art form from the beginning because it provides strong foundation to everything you do in that field.” 

She expressed her gratitude towards her aficionado teachers by thanking them, “I give my heartfelt thanks to my teachers, for educating me and guiding me, I couldn’t have done anything without their instructions.”