His words have complemented many a tune in Hindi cinema, but the celebrated lyricist, who plays a pivotal role in a recent play, remains a theatrewallah at heart
Reema Gehi (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 24, 2016)

An hour before the rehearsal of Chakkar Chalaaye Ghanchakkar, at the Jamshed Bhabha Auditorium located inside the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Swanand Kirkire seems visibly composed. The lyricist of movies such as Fitoor (2016), 3 Idiots (2009), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) and Parineeta (2005) for the first time essays a full-length role in a play, which opened on Saturday. Written by Gulzar, it draws inspiration from his own film, Angoor (1982), which was based on William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors — the play is perhaps director Salim Arif's most ambitious production and he seems rather content with Kirkire's contribution.

The 46-year-old, who played a small role in Manav Kaul's Colour Blind opposite Kalki Koechlin in 2014, says, "Returning to theatre is always a beautiful holiday for me. But acting in a play written by Gulzarsaab means something else. I greatly admire and respect his work," says Kirkire. "The other day when he was at the rehearsals, he told me that he really liked my performance and I was over the moon."

Kirkire credits his achievement to his foundation in theatre. "Whatever work you do in cinema, you do it at a certain time and space, and it reaches people much later and your work is served as a whole package. Theatre offers spontaneity, which I enjoy very much. It not only helps you became purer as a creative person, but it allows you to develop a direct relationship between you and your audience," he shares. "But I must confess, each time I go on stage I feel as nervous and excited as I did the first time."

Hailing from Indore, Kirkire, whose parents Chintamani and Neelambari were disciples of the legendary Kumar Gandharva, dreamed of a career in the business of entertainment. Before he enrolled himself at the National School of Drama in Delhi, Kirkire joined a theatre group and performed alongside actors Manoj Bajpayee, Ashish Vidyarthi and Piyush Mishra. "I learnt a lot from our director N K Sharma, especially the basics from him. It was my beginning in theatre."

At the NSD, where he studied design and direction, he met Satyadev Dubey with whom he shared a "love-hate relationship". The inimitable Dubey played a pivotal role in shaping Kirkire's career. "Everybody knows how Dubey was and is. For me, he's still there in our lives," he smiles.

Recalling an incident when Dubey met him for the first time at NSD, where he would organise classes, Kirkire laughs, "He saw me and asked me to leave. He said he didn't like my face and that it depressed him. I was very upset. I didn't know what to think."

But Kirkire chose to take the personal jibe in his stride and continued hanging around at his rehearsals. "The man had charisma and somehow you wanted him to like you," he says. It was only much later when Dubey heard Kirkire, an untrained singer, croon to his beautifully-penned Bawra Mann for Sudhir Mishra's Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi that he truly warmed up to him. "Before giving it to Sudhir, I sang that song at a party. Dubey was present there and he hugged me after listening to the song, and since then he started to love me," he says. "After that day, whichever play I staged, for instance, Aao Saathi Sapna Dekhe in 2013, he would tell me to stop the play and sing Bawra Mann. When I would argue saying it doesn't make sense, he would respond, 'You don't know how to cash in on your success which is why you're going nowhere'."

Currently, Kirkire is in the process of writing a film for R Balki and songs for Rajkumar Hirani's next (a biopic on actor Sanjay Dutt). According to him writing lyrics for Hindi cinema was sheer "serendipity". "My plan was to make movies," he says "When I was recording Bawra Mann for Sudhir Mishra, Pradeep Sarkar was present and he made me meet Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and that's how Parineeta happened and then it just snowballed into something else. Much like life, really."

Gulzar’s 1982 cult classic Angoor is finally making a stage debut. Helming the play is the writer’s long-time friend and collaborator, Salim Arif
Jane Borges (MID-DAY; July 17, 2016)

We are in the midst of speaking to veteran lyricist and film director Gulzar at his Pali Hill bungalow when he lets us in on something he hasn’t shared before. “I am a great admirer of this man,” he says, pointing to theatre director Salim Arif, who is sitting right across him, in Gulzar’s drawing room. “And I only trust him with my work.” Arif almost blushes at the flattering remark, and the two go on to exchange a warm smile before Gulzar continues, “He always surprises me with what he does to my characters and stories on stage. I am confident he will do it again.”

That Gulzar passed on the baton to Arif to recreate his 1982 cult classic Angoor — inspired from William Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors — that starred Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma in twin roles, is reason enough to believe him. The new adaptation, Chakkar Chalaaye Ghanchakkar, will feature theatre actors Zeeshan Ayub and Swanand Kirkire, and will be staged later this month in Mumbai. “There is a reason why I didn’t allow for a stage remake of the film earlier,” says the 81-year-old veteran writer. Personally, Gulzar felt that Kumar and Verma had set the bar too high for any other actor to replicate those performances.

The other factor was the logistics, which demanded having to show twin characters and different locations, on stage. “But, when Arif approached me, he came with a very logical question. He said, ‘Gulzar saab, if it was written for theatre, it should be possible to recreate it on stage’. I had to agree,” says Gulzar. “With a director like Arif to guide the actors, I knew it was in safe hands.”

Chakkar Chalaaye Ghanchakkar is set in a small town in northern India. The plot revolves around two pairs of identical twins separated at birth, whose lives go haywire when they meet in adulthood. For the play, Gulzar has tightened the original script, while retaining some of the dialogues from the films. Though, there are a few new elements of surprise, says Arif. “The biggest challenge for me is to ensure that people forget the film within five minutes of watching the play. I want to hold on to the playfulness and carnival- like chaos of Angoor, but give them something new,” the National School of Drama alumni adds.

Incidentally, this month also marks Arif’s 15th year in theatre. His first work on stage was Kharaashein, which again was adapted from Gulzar’s selection of poetry based on the Hindu-Muslim riots. Since then, they have worked on several theatre projects, including Lakeerein, Humsafar, Kachche Lamhe and Paansa. This association, however, goes back way further, when Arif worked as a costume designer for Gulzar’s television drama Mirza Ghalib in 1988.

When it comes to theatre adaptations of his works, only Arif does justice to them, feels Gulzar. “He is very particular about never changing a word or line from my script. Even if he wants to add something new, he ensures that he crosschecks with me. And, because we understand each other so well, it becomes easier to work on a creative level,” Gulzar says, adding that one reason he opted out of scripting for films is because these days, the director has greater control over the writer’s work. “ The medium [film] is not in your hands anymore. I’d rather explore theatre.”


When: July 23 and 24, 7.30 PM
Where: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre: NCPA, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point
Entry: Rs 300 – Rs 1,000
Call: 39895050