Naseeruddin Shah tells Ananya Ghosh about his new play, his love for theatre, why he is reluctant to stage Shakespeare, and why an actor shouldn’t become the character
Ananya Ghosh (MID-DAY; May 24, 2015)

The walk from the elevator to the door was probably the longest I have undertaken in recent years and I almost have my heart in my mouth. The last time I felt something close to this was when the teacher had handed me the Math question paper during my Board Exams. The doorbell is staring at me. I gulp, take a deep breath and press it. Moments later, I am in a drawing room stacked with books and DVDs. Sitting next to a dark and rather snobbish cat is the man himself. Naseeruddin Shah needs no introduction. Having grown up watching his films and having religiously attended most of his plays, I am in awe of this man, and at the moment also tongue- ied. Not a good sign, especially if you are in the interviewer’s chair, something I am yet to warm up to. My face must have betrayed my emotions, for Mr Shah gives me a wide smile, “Let’s do this!” I cross my fingers and toes.

Child's play
His upcoming play Gadh-ha aur Gadd-Ha is based on Krishen Chander’s satirical writings. Although known for his no frills productions that usually consist of no more than three characters, this play has an eight- member cast. “We usually don’t have a big cast, but this one required it. Luckily, we had a few talented actors around, many of whom are my students,” says Shah.

This is the first time he is attempting an out-and-out children’s play although previously he had staged George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man for children, “although no children came for the play,” he complains. But, that is not really a children’s play… I point out rather sheepishly. “Yes, it is a satire on war. I saw it first when I was a five-year-old. Geoffrey Kendal’s Shakespeareana used to come to our school every year and they used to stage the play quite often. I didn’t understand anything but it always stayed with me. Even if 15- 20 children come to watch our play and remember it, I am happy,” he says.

Mr Kendal and his theatre company had an immense impact on Shah in his growing up years — so much so that Shah often calls himself his Eklavya. And now his own theatre company Motley, which he built with Benjamin Gilani in 1979, is trying to do the same. “We stage plays in schools in Delhi, Dehradun, Patiala; but in Mumbai nobody calls us. I guess the school curriculum is too busy to incorporate theatre,” he rues.

According to him what makes children better audience is that they don’t come with preconceived notions. “Even doing a play like Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot for children is quite fantastic. They don’t look for deeper meanings and just enjoy the play. We should not be condescending towards them. They are smarter than we think they are,” says Shah.

Shakespeare; not for dummies
Shah has a penchant for adapting literary works of famous authors and has worked extensively on the texts of Shaw, Beckett, and more recently Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto. But unlike his guru Mr Kendal, he has so far not shown any particular love for The Bard; although he has grown up watching Shakespeare’s plays. “It is very difficult to do Shakespeare because you don’t get actors who can speak the way Shakespeare should be spoken. In fact, I would like to teach Shakespeare in schools. But, the problem is that if I approach a school here they will be suspicious about my motive!” he says.

What about a Hindi adaptation then? And this elicits laughter. “Shakespeare has been borrowed by Hindi filmmakers ad nauseam. It all started with the Parsi theatre of Agha Hashar Kashmiri who made plays like Khoon ka Khoon based on Hamlet, Teen Betiyaan based on King Lear, and so on."