Stage-Struck

Many filmstars seek the theatre for creative satisfaction, writes V.Gangadhar

THE Mumbai stage is facing an invasion from Bollywood stars, some forgotten, some fading and others still bright. The Raj Kapoor discovery, Padmini Kolhapure who hit the headlines some years back when she kissed Prince Charles during an Indian visit, is the latest, playing a call girl in the play Kaash. Why, even screen villain Ranjeet who gained notoriety for his numerous rape scenes in films, made his debut in a sex comedy and is planning more stage ventures.

The stage can be a good breeding ground for film actors. In Hollywood, great actors like Marlon Brando, Paul Newman and Gregory Peck were theatre people before films lured them. Bollywood has plenty of stars who shone on the college or professional stage before making it to the films. During his college days, Jatin (Rajesh) Khanna was very active and won inter-collegiate acting honours.

Mumbai has its share of film actors who excelled on the stage and still maintained links with it. Theatre is the first love for Naseerudin Shah whose ‘Motley’ group regularly came out with new productions in Hindi and English. Actor Paresh Rawal’s eyes light up when he talked of theatre. "That is real creativity, my friend," he exclaimed. "I am so caught up in films that I can’t spare much time for the stage. Hopefully, I can devote more time to theatre in the future."

Anupam Kher, a product of the National School of Drama, feels he wasted 20 years in Bollywood doing loud, stereotyped roles before coming back to the stage with Saalgirah where he had wife Kiron Kher as his co-star. It was a brilliant, triumphant return to the stage. Kher followed this with the more recent one-actor play based on his own life, Kuch bhi ho sakta hain which is running to packed houses wherever it was staged. Another classy actor who did not miss any opportunities to return to the stage is Farooq Shaikh. Tumhari Amrita starring him with Shabana Azmi where the two sit on chairs facing the audience and read and reminiscence over letters from the past, was a fascinating and highly successful experiment. Shaikh also acted and directed, Azhar ka Khwab the Urdu version of My Fair Lady. Shabana Azmi whose family was closely associated with Mumbai’s Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) felt enriched with her performances in plays like Safed Kundali and Tumhari Amrita.

These are professional, talented actors who appreciated the uniqueness of the theatre. "They are welcome to perform on the stage’ says Feroz Khan who had directed these stars in many successful plays like Gandhi vs Mahatma, Tumhari Amrita and Kuch bhi ho sakta hain. "Actors like Anupam, Naseer and Shabana know the value and challenges of the theatre. They are professional, report on time for rehearsals, respect the director and would never create tantrums because of their star value," he explained. Feroz Khan knows the potential of his cast and that was why he boldly cast star-struck actor and now director, Satish Kaushik in the difficult role of hero Willy Loman in Salesman Ramlal the Hindi adaptation of Arthur Miller’s famous play, Death of A Salesman. Kaushik, in spite of his busy schedule in Bollywood, worked hard and came out with a vintage performance.

Another famous stage personality, Dinesh Thakur, however, is not so enthusiastic about the star exodus to the stage. Thakur’s group, ‘Ank’ had been doing outstanding work for the past 28 years without featuring film stars. "They never forget they are stars and demand special treatment," he lamented. "Anyway, most of them turn to the stage only after their successful days in films were over. There is no real dedication."

Perhaps, Thakur has a point. The recent exodus from Bollywood to the Mumbai stage consists mostly of stars who had little work to do and were fading quickly from public memory. They appeared keen for any kind of roles, preferring bedroom farces and sex comedies with lots of double-meaning dialogue. Rati Agnihotri, prim and virginal in her screen career, was ready to enact roles in plays like Love hua Once More and Please divorce me, darling based on the successful Broadway hit, Cactus Flower. One-time glamour girl, Zeenat Aman tried her luck on the stage with the sex comedy, Chupke, Chupke and the role of Mrs Robinson in Graduate. Another not-so-distinguished former star, Shoma Anand tried her luck in a loud, lewd play, Hungama ho gaya which did not go well with the audiences.

Deprived of fame and publicity, such stars looked at the stage as a last resort. It was like joining a political party on the eve of the elections! Even BJP MP, Shatrugan Sinha, when he discovered his political career floundering, appeared in the comedy Pati, patni aur woh and promoted it aggressively among fellow politicians. They were not impressed.

"Appearing before live audiences is no joke," pointed out Feroz Khan. "You are close to the audience, there are no retakes as in films and you cannot afford to make mistakes. The discipline needed is harsh." Jaya Bahduri had the required dedication and discipline and hence was successful in serious plays like Baa Retire hoti hain, Those lacking these qualities were content with frivolous sex farces where coarse dialogues raised laughter.

Commercial-minded producers did not mind casting former fading stars in their productions, at least once. "We see if their star value still worked," said one of the producers. "People are curious to discover how actors like Zeenat or Padmini performed on the stage" But with the kind of scripts and roles offered to them many of the fading stars could end up as one-play wonders.

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