|
Showman Sinha - at his 'regaling' best.
 Film
Star turned Politician; Shatrughan Sinha was
in the city for the performance of the play "Pati,
Patni Aur Main”". The play, directed
by Ramesh Talwar, marks the forthright actor's first
entry into theatre after his foray into the Hindi Film
Industry. The actor, known for his booming voice, regaled
audiences at the Press Conference held at Crosswords
on the eve of the play.
Hera are snippets of what he had to share with us.
The last play, Sinha said he performed was in the role
of a villain in 'Yatri' as a student in the FTII
and claimed he got the most amount of applause after
the heroine. He also went on to add, in typical filmi
style, that Pune was next only to Patna as the city
he holds closest to his heart. This was the reason he
insisted that the play's second showing be held in the
city where most actors received their rudimentary acting
lessons.
Talking about his stage debut, Sinha, confessed that
he ought to have entered the field of professional theatre
earlier but his political career had kept him busy.
It was at the behest of his wife and Mr. Ramesh Talwar
that he decided to take the plunge. Queried on his move
from Film to Theatre, he shot back that it was high
time he moved from the "theatre of the absurd
to theatre of performance."
Not having ruled out acting in films, Sinha revealed
that he still continued to receive film offers, but
there was a limit to how many more times he was expected
to repeat the phrase "Thaakur Yeh Shaadi
Barbaadi Hai, Ise Rok Do". It was to break
away from this stereotyped image that he opted for a
comic role in the play.
Sinha emphasized the effort that goes into making a
stage perfomance. Stage performance, he reiterated,
was an entirely different ball game with no coffee breaks,
telephone gupchups and retakes.
 Overwhelmed
by the Press and Public response to the play's premiere
in Mumbai, Sinha couldn't resist mentioning that Chief
Minister, Vilas Rao Deshmukh, his friend and
college mate, made it for the play, as did Mani Shankar
Iyer, who flew down specially for the show.
Strangely, for all his forthrightness, Sinha refused
to reveal the precise year he passed out of the FTII;
though he did divulge that it was sometime in the late
'60s to the early '70s.
Here's wishing Sinha a successful career in theatre.
By Rahul Surkund
Photo Courtesy - Clea PR
|
