With hits like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Jism, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Bheja Fry and Khosla Ka Ghosla, under his belt, Vinay Pathak has been a household name since the ’90s, regaling people with his charm and comic timing. But like many actors of his calibre, he has held audiences captive with his on stage performances too, particularly with his collaborations with writer-director-actor Rajat Kapoor on Nothing Like Lear, which has seen over 100 performances, and What’s Done is Done, which has been running for nine years. Over the weekend, the duo brought these two performances to the city along with their new play, Karamjale Brothers, which was performed in Bengaluru for the first time.
The Hindi play is an adaptation of Russian literary giant Dostoevsky’s final novel, The Brothers Karamazov, which grapples with questions of faith, morality, and free will through the story of a man and his fraught relationship with his sons. Pathak, who plays the patriarch, explains, “What we tried to do was adapt the epic novel to today’s time and age. It’s set in North India, around Delhi and Haryana, and is all about the dysfunctionality of a family – the conflicts, problems and fights that they have. Amidst all this, a murder happens.” Despite the murder, Pathak clarifies that the story is more than a murder mystery, saying, “It’s not actually a whodunit or a mystery but more about why we do what we do.”
While crediting director Rajat Kapoor with having a major role in the adaptation, Pathak considers the creation of the play a collaborative process, saying, “If you ask ‘why is he saying that particular dialogue and how’, it is that actor’s interpretation and adaptation to make sense of the story, the meaning of the conflict and to keep it in the present.” For Pathak, who has worked across plays, TV shows, mainstream Bollywood films, and OTT series, picking a favourite medium, Pathak jokes, is like trying to choose between gulab jamun and mysore pak. Regardless, reflecting on the rise of OTT in recent years, he notes its role in platforming unique stories. “I’ve been very selective, not just in OTT but cinema and theatre also. OTT has definitely made a mark, and now, suddenly, different kinds of stories, which didn’t have a market maybe 20 years ago [have a platform].”
Pathak, who, while known for his comedic roles, is a versatile actor who’s performed in thrillers, dramas, and romantic comedies as well. Rather than constrained by a character archetype or genre, according to Pathak, it is the depth and nuance of scripts that matters most while selecting roles. He says, “If it’s a well-written script, I get attracted to it immediately, not necessarily because of what character I’m playing, or who is playing another character or how it’s going to be produced. I don’t have a preference; if something comes my way, and it’s well written, I’ll do anything.”
In a long and versatile career such as his, what does he consider a milestone? Pathak has a personal answer. “I’ll tell you honestly; the biggest achievement of my life – not my career – is my two daughters. They make me the happiest; I learn so much from them, and that’s the best job so far,” he says with a smile.
Rajat Kapoor, ahead of the performance of Nothing Like Lear, What’s Done is Done, and Karamjale Brothers, reflects on his love for Bengaluru, particularly its theatre crowd, saying, “Bengaluru, I think, is absolutely the best theatre audience in the country, followed by Bombay, Pune, Delhi and Kolkata; but Bengaluru is definitely the boss. Every time we come there, we go back with a lot of joy and fulfilment. We’ve performed at Ranga Shankara, Jyoti Nivas, Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Jagriti; everywhere, there’s a different kind of audience but the kind of educated audience that exists in Bangalore – I think it’s not there anywhere.