Lillete Dubey is thrilled that after being away from the stage for over a year, she got to perform live at the three-day theatre festival at Prithvi Theatre that wraps up today. This probably was the longest she was away from doing what she loves the most in her four-decade-long career.

Talking about being back on stage, she says, “We were very excited to be back at Prithvi! Though theatres were shut for a long duration, whenever they were operational, the shows have been housefull, and that itself was a testimony to the fact that people were eager to watch live shows and theatre. After a year of not performing, we performed live this week at our three-day theatre festival.”

Lillete, who has directed and acted in over 60 theatre productions, has also been a part of films like Kal Ho Naa Ho, Baghban, Chashme Baddoor, Monsoon Wedding and Zubeidaa, among others.

Reflecting on the tough time that theatre artistes faced during the Coronavirus pandemic, the actress says, “Every single person in the theatre field has been hit very badly by the pandemic. And, not just financially, there is also a psychological side of it and a creative side that has been deeply affected. TV and films also suffered, but not the way theatre did because performing arts is a live medium at the end of the day. We can do as many online shows as we want or record and telecast, but theatre is a different medium. The core of theatre is telling a story around a fire, and so, it has to be a live interaction that is to be shared to be enjoyed.”

When asked about the rise of online theatre in the last two years, she says, “Online plays do not excite me at all. Sitting in a room and reading my lines… that doesn’t work for me. That definitely is not theatre for me. But then maybe I am not with the times. I am not motivated to do the online form of theatre.”

Though Lillete was away from the stage, she was busy shooting for her upcoming projects. The actress feels that the digital medium has offered many actors an opportunity to be a part of exciting projects with author-backed roles.

“It is wonderful that there are so many platforms mushrooming every day because then it means that there is work for so many actors in the industry,” she says, adding, “Actors who have been under the radar so far, especially senior actors, are getting interesting offers again, thanks to these platforms. Also, actors who played supporting parts in films are being offered meatier roles. However, I am convinced that people still long to have the freedom of interaction that theatre offers.”