CHENNAI: It was in the summer of 2003 that Gil Alon, the Zen Buddhist teacher, actor, singer and theatre director from Israel, set foot in Chennai and became associated with the theatre group Koothu-p-Pattarai. Since then, Alon, who was awarded the ‘World Peace Amassador' title by Save The World Foundation in 2015, has been active in conducting one-day intensive workshops for several theatre artistes in the city who have later carved a niche for themselves in both the theatre and films.
It has been 15 years since his first production Prahalada Charitham premiered in the city and Alon, who is back here for an intensive workshop, talks to CE about his love for Chennai, acting, getting bitten by the travel bug and more!
When Alon landed in India at the age of 39, little did he know that he was going to change the lives of several theatre enthusiasts. “I landed on a Diwali morning and it was love at first sight for me. Though many people are apprehensive of Diwali because of the noise and pollution, I was in love with it!” he declares.
After four years, he travelled to Chennai, where he fell in love with the lettering style of the Tamil language. “It was my first memory of Chennai and hence, special. I love the beauty of designs and fonts,” smiles Alon. Having worked with numerous artistes for close to two decades, the theatre practitioner who became a professional actor at 16, says that he makes sure to stay in touch with his students. “I always learn from my students. Today, when I see their work, I feel pleased and proud,” he says pointing to actors of the present generation like Vijay Sethupathi, Vinodhini and Somasundaram. “For me acting is about being realistic. In fact, I refuse to use the word ‘acting’…I use ‘behaving’ and ‘being’.”
He recalls memories of his first role in the 1976 Israeli play An Enemy of the People and gushes, “It was an amazing experience. One day, I am at the theatre seeing all the huge icons perform and the next thing I know, I am performing alongside them. This journey took me all over the world and put me in situations I never thought I would be in.”
For Alon, travelling is a ‘virus’ and an ‘addiction’ and he says he loves to explore different places. “Though sometimes it can be tiring, travelling connects me to people and places. But for me, it’s about being connected to a place without logic. For example, I love tropical places and I love the heat. So you see, Chennai heat doesn’t bother me at all (grins)! And, when I plan to travel to colder regions, I make sure I travel during their summer time,” he quips.
As we chat more about acting, Alon emphasises that creativity should never be criticised or judged, and says, “Competition kills creativity and judgement hampers it. So, in my workshops I ask people not to be number one and the best. When you create an environment where people can be themselves, creativity can flourish. All my workshops are based on this.”
He loves singing with a live orchestra; so we had to ask him: what does he think about established artistes ‘lip-syncing’ their own songs in live concerts? “It’s outrageous and it shows that they don’t respect their audience! It’s very degrading and I think anyone who does that is just lazy,” he avers.
“I only do what I love. Even in acting, I play roles that I fall in love with,” says Alon, and shares that he had vowed to do so at 20. “It’s a piece of advice I would like to give to budding artists. If you don’t feel and love a role, don’t do it for the sake of fame and money. Act for the love and passion of the art.”
In awe of perfectionists
The actor who played the role of Lord Irwin in the 2002 film 'The Legend of Bhagat Singh' recalls that a pink coloured building was painted white at the call of director Rajkumar Santhoshi. “Ït was amazing to see that. When he saw the shot on screen, he said he wanted to re-shoot and wanted the building in white. The artists immediately went and painted the building white in no time. I have not seen such efficiency anywhere,” he says.
For details on his workshop, call: 24796940