While audiences may remember him for his comic brilliance in Chashme Buddoor, Shrimaan Shrimati and Yes Boss, or his recent turn as Jameel Jamali in Dhurandhar, Rakesh Bedi’s most fascinating performance perhaps unfolds away from the camera. A theatre enthusiast for nearly 48 years, the actor has spent about three decades performing Massage, a challenging one-man production that requires him to slip into 24 different characters. The actor is all set to bring this remarkable theatrical experience to Hyderabad at Taramati Baradari auditorium on November 12, as part of the 21st Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival. Written by Vijay Tendulkar and directed by Harbansh Singh, the play combines humour and social satire, reaffirming his belief that even the most serious stories need to entertain.
Excerpts
How would you describe your journey as an actor?
It has been an extremely enjoyable journey (laughs), and one that I don’t think has an ending. I want it to continue for as long as possible. As long as you don’t feel tired or believe that you cannot move any further, the journey goes on.
What significance does theatre hold in your life, and how has it shaped you as an actor?
I am from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. I was involved in theatre even before joining the institute, continued after graduating, and am still pursuing it passionately and rigorously. I can proudly say that I am among the very few actors who have constantly performed on stage for the past 47-48 years.
Your play Massage has been running successfully for several years. What keeps audiences coming back to it?
Theatre is where you polish yourself as an actor and learn discipline. It teaches dedication and keeps you grounded because you work closely with several people. It requires immense teamwork; you cannot do it alone. Unlike cinema, where you give a shot and move on, theatre is an entirely different and challenging experience. Another important aspect of my theatre is that whatever I want to communicate through my plays must have an element of entertainment. The subject could be serious, a comment on society, satire, humour or a reflection of social realities. But it has to be presented under the cover of entertainment. Otherwise, audiences may not engage with it for long.
The play was written by the great doyen of Hindi theatre, Vijay Tendulkar, whose thought-provoking and hard-hitting plays are performed across the world and in several languages. Massage is probably the only play of his that no other theatre group has attempted apart from me. It is extremely challenging, and that is precisely why I took it up. The play is essentially a serious reflection of society. However, when I took it up, I believed that everything has two sides. Just as every coin has two sides, every serious subject has a flip side. If you look at that other side, you can sometimes laugh at the very things you were initially taking seriously. That is the approach I brought to the play.
Was there a particular character among the 24 that you found especially challenging to portray?
The play was not originally written with so many characters. It was essentially a narrative. However, when I read it, I began visualising the characters and giving each one a distinct personality. For instance, there is a producer who makes a C-grade film belonging to the sex-and-snake genre. The writer has only described the situation, but I had to imagine the producer’s personality, speech, body language and sensibilities. Similarly, there is a Marathi villain, a lawyer who comes to exploit the producer. Introduced as Vithal Rao Mandke, he has to speak like a Marathi lawyer, using legal terminology and menacing language that is difficult to decipher. That is where the actor’s interpretation comes in. I approached every character similarly, giving each a distinct body language, colour, tone and language. There is also a woman who enters the protagonist’s life, and I portray her as well. One of the highlights is Pandey, the personal assistant to a senior cabinet minister. Because of election-related work, he has been speaking excessively, and his throat has been affected. The writer only mentions that his throat has gone for a toss. How that condition manifests itself is the actor’s responsibility to show. Pandey is particularly funny because the audience can hear only half of what he says, yet understand the entire meaning.
Your comic timing in Dhurandhar has won appreciation despite the film belonging to a different genre. What do you think worked in your favour?
When I read the script of Dhurandhar at home, I went through it three or four times. Since my mind naturally gravitates towards humour, I identified certain spaces where humour could be sprinkled or extracted from the situations. I worked on those portions and made my notes. During the shoot, I kept suggesting to Aditya Dhar that some of my humorous ideas could be incorporated into the scenes. Initially, he was a little cautious, but once he saw that the ideas were working and the scenes were shaping up nicely, he became receptive and joined the process.
What do you think audiences in Hyderabad will take away from watching Massage?
I believe the play weaves a kind of magic. People who initially come to watch it may not necessarily be prepared for what unfolds. But as the performance progresses, they get completely drawn into it.
What’s more on the plate?
A lot of food (laughs)! There are several other projects in the pipeline, too.