Vinay Pathak is no stranger to Delhi or its theatre audiences. Even though he has been the face of numerous productions for over a decade, he says that the charm never wears off. Ahead of the Delhi Theatre Festival (August 4-6), he talks to TMS about his partnership with actor-director Rajat Kapoor, their interpretation of Shakespearean tragedies and Indian theatre in the times of Reels.
Excerpts:
What are the challenges of returning to Delhi with a play like Nothing Like Lear – something that the city has already seen?
Delhi is so big, so vast when it comes to theatre culture. Every time we performed in Delhi, we found some wonderful audiences. Even if it’s the same play that we’ve been doing for the last ten or eleven years, we always get new audiences in the city. The challenge is, I would say, excitement, excitement and more adventure.
theatre
See, we have a basic idea. If you’re familiar with our version of Lear, we call it Nothing like Lear because there is simply nothing like it. It’s almost not King Lear, but at the same time, because we have made it the fool’s interpretation of King Lear’s tragedy, everything that we talk about or say or do in our version, is also precisely what Shakespeare talks about. When the fool steps in, he takes advantage of whatever the situation offers. He does take a few liberties.
A clown is always commenting on something or the other in Shakespeare’s play. In your play are there any recent events or any event in particular that the clown is commenting on?
It can be as innocuous as an audience member sneezing right before a particular speech that that the clown is about to give which the clown will then comment on! That’s how we present the clown. And that is why it is really exciting. Yes, sometimes the audience does write the play for me!
As an actor, do you have an ideal audience in mind?
The ideal theatre audience is the one filling up the auditorium. The ideal ones are who haven’t left even one seat unattended. And those who listen to each and everything that you’re saying on stage; watch, probably a little too keenly, the proceedings and comment on them. Even if somebody is watching the play for the very first time – not just my play – even if they are watching a theatre play for the very first time in their life if they are attentive, they’re my ideal audience. And I tell them “I hope the bug has bitten you well enough that the fever never goes away. Ever.”
Have you received any unconventional opinion or feedback on your play from the audience?
All the time. Sometimes the people who haven’t seen the play before, have loved the play. They come up to me saying, “Why did you say that about that woman over there? That was a little harsh.” I look at them with admiration, because of their innocence of buying into the situation that I created. It is part of the play. But they, so naively, get sucked into the moment that they think that I insulted an audience member. I find it very endearing.
You have been working with Rajat Kapoor for a long time. What makes this teamwork? Is it always smooth sailing or do you have creative arguments with each other?
I think the team works because the team is committed to telling the story. The team is committed to enjoying the text and understanding the text together. There is no teacher, no student here — we are both students and we learn from each other. We love challenges and we love to solve them together. It gives us immense strength to know that we are there for each other, no matter what. And that is why every time we attempt a play, we know that we can understand it more than one could, individually, because I am with this team who is officially hungry for more.
You have worked in both films and theatre. So how does working in both feed into your performances? Do you prefer one over the other?
Not at all. Whatever job you do, you make the most of it. It is like asking how you deal with being from Kolkata and adjusting to Delhi, which has a completely different pace. It’s almost like saying give me mishti doi and don’t give me langcha. They both have their own set of flavours. Each impacts your taste buds differently. I am surrounded by some wonderful friends and collaborators in each circle.
Who are the actors in theatre and films whose work you enjoy?
All of them really. A lot of people’s skills have an impact on me and they leave a lasting impression. I am moved and interested by everyone. I grew up watching some great actors and I realise now that I’m working in theatre that it takes so much and so many to create something brilliant.
In the age of digital entertainment, how do you think Indian theatre will be impacted?
You have no idea how thriving the Indian theatre is. I mean, yes, the question does come up because everybody is watching Reels, who has time to come to watch a play? But you know, we are almost a week away from the shows and it’s all already sold out. How did they get sold out? There’s a thing called online booking. Some of my friends from Bengaluru are coming to watch my shows in Delhi. I don’t take digital advancement as a curse. I take it as an advantage, as a privilege and I believe, it helps the art.
Young people or people of the older generation – which group comes to your shows the most?
It is a mix of both. You’d be surprised that there are so many people who are coming to the theatre for the first time. As a matter of fact, I tell all my theatre friends that we should start using some sort of scale to figure out how many first-timers have come to see a play. That is where we have a responsibility – to draw them to the medium with something original. Most of the theatre spaces in Mumbai have grown. If there used to be 20 theatre stages 30 years ago, now there are at least a hundred. And they’re all functional. I don’t believe in the argument that digitalisation is killing the platform.
What does the year look like for you in terms of projects?
There is Nothing Like Lear in Delhi. I also have a film coming up, written and directed by my friend Sriram Raghavan, called Merry Christmas, which is going to be out in December. Another filmmaker friend of mine, Zoya Akhtar, is coming out with her own interpretation of the Archies comics
[The Archies] and I am a part of that too.