Thespians share their wisdom

In the second week of National School of Drama's International Drama Festival – 19th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, Dr Mohan Agashe, famous theatre and film personality met students of National School of Drama and theatre lovers. When asked about how his journey in theatre began, he said, "My interest in acting was triggered, among other things, due to economic reasons – the acting classes were free in school. I chose medicine based on the grades I secured. But to me, both professions – medicine and theatre are on the same platform and both essentially deal with human emotions; medical training has enriched my operational knowledge in theatre."

"The whole of the twentieth century was dominated by the print and the written word. This led to the supremacy of people who could read and write, and who in turn exploited those who could not read and write. We have traditionally ignored the fact that biologically speaking, language comes later in life. Language of words is a cerebral tool while the language of sound and images is an emotional tool, so a film appeals to us faster than a text book would.

Satyajit Ray has taught us how to handle sounds and image in films. I believe completely on 'The day I went to school my learning stops.' Gribs Theatre came as a welcome relief- a form that helped me develop a whole new way of looking at life and not just theatre," added Dr Agashe. During 'Meet the Director' – face to face of 19th edition of Bharat Rang Mahotsav, renowned theatre personality, Randhir Kumar, director of the play 'Outcaste' talked about the generalised pity for the marginalised sections of the society and said, "This autobiography is not about victimising the less privileged people of lower caste, we simply want to send a message that these people want equality and balance, fighting the imbalances that has been present in the system for centuries and is still being practiced."

Mainul Haque, assistant director of 'Alkap' commented on the process of training of actors and said "we don't train our actors because only talented and experienced actors can perform 'Alkap' because it does not have a set script, it is improvised according to the place it is performed in and keeps on changing, but all the elements of theatrical performance remain."

Bratya Basu, director of 'Awdyo Shesh Rajani' talked boldly on the portrayal of a prostitutes in his play. He said, "Vulgarity depends upon the interpretation. It is how you take it. I don't know what is obscene and what is decent. I would depict nudity if I believe it to be necessary. However, according to me unnecessary usage of nudity just to please the audience irritates me. Theatre is a community culture and people are coming from different backgrounds. There are many who use it as a ladder to get name and fame while some do it purely out of love. Money in theatre is a big problem. My central character talks about business in theatre and not about theatre business. Every theatre activist must ask a question to himself: Do you love theatre or yourself in the theatre?

On Valentine's day, three plays – 'Blackbird', 'Ashwatthama' and 'Chitra' were webcasted live during the drama festival. Apart from 5 plays in Delhi, 'Puteri Saadong' from Malaysia in Pune and 'Fool's Court' from Tajikistan in Hyderabad were enacted on February 14.

The international drama festival which will go on till February 21 will feature 5 Plays today – Debashish Ray's 'Ilaa Gurhaishaa' in Bengali; Sharanya Ramprakash's 'Akshayambara' in Kannada; M L Samaga's 'Vaali Vadha' (Taal Maddale) in Kannada; Happy Ranajit's 'Suraj ka Satwan Ghoda' and Chamika Hathlahawatte's 'Raja Man Wahla' from Sri Lanka in Sinhala.