The room had settled into an unusual stillness. Phones were silent, chairs barely creaked, and the audience leaned forward as a single voice carried the weight of grief, memory and quiet reflection across the space. That was the atmosphere when Indian theatre director, playwright, author, actor and filmmaker Manav Kaul brought his play Traasadi to Hyderabad. The performance marked his first stage appearance in the city, where he spent two days performing, first at district 150 by The Quorum Hyderabad and then at Rangbhoomi Spaces & Events. Known for films like Kai Po Che!, Tumhari Sulu, Badla, and the series Trial by Fire, Manav has long been rooted in theatre and literature, having written books like Theek Tumhare Peeche and staged acclaimed plays like Peele Scooter Wala Aadmi.
For Manav, Hyderabad had been on his mind for a while. Speaking to CE, he shared, “I know the theatre scene in Hyderabad is very good, and we had been flooded with comments of people asking us to come to the city because we were touring, travelling and performing in different cities. Hyderabad was always in my mind, and I knew I had to come. Then, Quorum said yes and asked us to come and perform here. I loved it and really liked the audience. I could see this was not the theatre where one could do this intense piece, yet the audience was in pin-drop silence, listening without a single phone call or message. Performing this intense piece here was difficult, but because of the audience, I could manage some bits; some moments were very honest, and I enjoyed it.”
The emotional response from viewers was what stayed with him the most. According to him, tragedy can sometimes offer a deeper kind of catharsis than light entertainment. “I think because mostly in these spaces people do stand-up comedy, and I like that idea because everyone is making everyone laugh all the time, and people have a great evening. But it was Saturday, and the play was Traasadi, which means tragedy. People were here, listening, and they were in it, and people were crying in the end. I felt this is a different kind of higher entertainment because when you cry not for your own grief but for someone else’s grief, it makes you light and humble. That tender emotion feels very important to us,” he explained. For Manav, that shared emotion is what connects theatre closely to literature and storytelling.
The play itself traces back to an earlier piece of writing. Manav revealed that the idea for Traasadi grew from a short story he had written years ago. “I had written a short story called Maa, and we later developed a piece based on it. When I was in London, I saw Andrew Scott, an Irish actor, perform a solo piece in which he stood on stage, drank water, and performed, which made me feel I could do this and even write a better story. That idea stayed with me because theatre is mesmerisingly beautiful. I wanted to create something intense that connects with the audience. We tried it as an experiment, and it worked. I am happy people return to watch it again everywhere I go,” he reflected.
Performing such emotionally heavy material repeatedly has also been a learning process for him. “It’s a process, and I’m also learning. We have done almost 70 shows. Last time, when we were in Bengaluru, we performed five shows in three days. At times you have to do back-to-back shows, and every time you have to make it sound like you are performing it for the first time. As an actor, I am also learning every day and pushing my boundaries,” he said.
Beyond theatre, Manav moves fluidly between film, writing, and the stage. Yet he sees all of it as part of one larger world. “I love storytelling in any form, and since I am part of this world of storytelling, I also write books. I travel a lot, meet new people and perform in different places. It feels like a great life, and honestly, I feel jealous of my own life because these are the moments I truly cherish and love,” he revealed.
Reflecting on the most difficult character he has played so far, Manav expresses, “I think Nail Polish was very difficult because getting into the head of a girl is something very tough indeed.”
Curiosity, he believes, drives everything he does. “I don’t take this as a job at all. I do it because I’m a curious person, who wants to know more, and that is what keeps me going. If I don’t feel like writing, I don’t write for years. I want to know what is beyond this, why we are living, what we are doing here and more,” Manav pointed out.
As for what comes next, Manav remains open to possibilities. With a film in post-production and ideas for future theatre projects, he says, he is simply letting the journey unfold. For now, he is content travelling from city to city, telling stories and letting the audience complete them.