Sanskrita Bharadwaj, Titas Chowdhury and Naina Arora (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 25, 2020)

With no new theatrical shows, open-mics or gigs due to the outbreak of Covid-19, life has been drastically different for people across the country. The performing arts have always suffered challenges, financially. And now, the Coronavirus scare has come as a severe blow to the entire industry, including artistes and technicians. Manav Kaul who was all set to stage Giving Up On Godot, a play directed by him at Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre, says, “It was a little heartbreaking that it didn’t happen. We had finished the final rehearsals, and just two days before we were about to go on stage, we came to know that the show has been postponed.”

Ask him about the loss of money and he explains, “A play won’t go waste and it’s here to stay. I’ve got a script, we’ve got actors and we’ll open it in November. The money put in is all mine and so it doesn’t matter. The staff involved in plays are being taken care of.”

Shikha Talsania, who has co-directed the play, wants to concentrate on the silver lining and hopes that the audience turnout will be more post the crisis. “Maybe, once this ends, we will get more audience, who will be bored of watching television and would look forward to watching a live performance,” she says.

Gujarati actor-director Pratik Gandhi, who is popular for his plays Mohan No Masalo and Hu Chandrakant Bakshi, believes that the coronavirus crisis is a “big blow” to the already struggling theatre industry but some “path breaking innovation” might come out of it. “With shows being cancelled, a lot of theatre people who are completely dependent on it are suffering a huge loss, too. But being an optimist, I want to believe that we’re all getting time to introspect,” he says.

Comedy gigs which are a regular in Mumbai and Delhi, have suffered a big blow as well. “All my shows were cancelled, including public, corporate, and private,” says stand-up comedian Rahul Dua (right), adding, “Quarantine can be boring. Even if all of this is over, it’ll take some time for people to be comfortable sharing an auditorium room with 300 people.”

Musicians, too, are bearing the brunt. Delhi-based singer Sonam Kalra, says, “This has been hard on the global economy. A lot of musicians including myself had shows that have got cancelled but I do believe it is necessary for now as it is better for us to be safe and responsible.”

Actor Sonali Kulkarni (below), who was supposed to travel to the US for a play, early this month, cancelled her travel plans. She says, “This is going to hit the industry for long term. All the technicians are going to face problems because we are shut.”

Stage actor and producer Denzil Smith (below) echoes similar thoughts. “Let’s assume that we are able to get out of this, even then people will not want to invest in the arts because many people would think about resurrecting their financial situations,” he explains, adding, “Perhaps, the art will see a resurgence and some mind blowing stuff will happen when we start over.”

Director Atul Satya Koushik whose shows were cancelled, says, “Even if normal services start opening by mid April, entertainment would be the last priority of the government as it’s not an essential commodity. I am telling my team that art is practised in isolation, and executed in public. So, the practise must continue, writers must write new scenes, and directors must revisit their shows and redesign them.”

However, theatre organisers are hopeful. Anasuya Vaidya, from Akshara Theatre, Delhi, says, “We’ve had to cancel and postpone a whole lot of shows. Classes and workshops are suspended as well. We are waiting to get back on stage.”

While Asmita Theatre Group is keeping the action alive on Facebook with a 10-day online theatre festival called the Quarantine Theatre Festival. Founder Arvind Gaur says, “Our live shows were affected so we thought of doing an online festival till March 31,” he says.

Denzil Smith on working with namesake Denzel Washington’s actor-son and filmmaker Christopher Nolan
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 26, 2019)

Mirror had earlier reported (September 10) that besides Dimple Kapadia, another Indian actor, Denzil Smith, is a part of Christopher Nolan’s next directorial, Tenet. The Hollywood filmmaker was in Mumbai on September 13 to shoot the India portions of the film in a five-day schedule.

Now, we have learnt that during the Mumbai schedule, the team shot with Denzil, who plays Dimple’s husband in the film, at a residential property in Breach Candy, which appears in the film as their house. “I play Dimple ji’s husband, a powerful and well-connected arms dealer, Dimple ji has a prominent place in the film and was a part of the film’s earlier schedule in Estonia,” says the 58-year-old actor, adding that he met Nolan for the first time only this month.

He goes on to add, “But his assistant directors and the costume team were in touch with me. When I met Christopher for the first time, I told him how lovely it was to meet him, and he thanked me for doing the film. It was an extraordinary experience to work with him. Our industry should learn how a film shoot is organised and successfully carried out, especially when there are many variables and a big scale involved.” On how he landed the role, Denzil, who has previously appeared in Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House, John Madden’s The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, informs that he was in Bangkok when he got a call from a Los Angeles based casting agent. “He asked me to send an audition tape and was later informed that I have bagged the part.”

While cast members John David Washington and Robert Pattinson were also a part of the Mumbai schedule, Denzil had scenes only with the former. “I shot for an intense scene with John, which is an important part of the narrative. John was amazed to meet me as his father’s name is also Denzel (award-winning American actor-filmmaker Denzel Washington) as he had never met another actor by the same name. He is a diligent and committed actor and most of all, he is a lovely person,” Denzil concludes.

'The Lunchbox' actor Denzil Smith plays the founder of Pakistan in Gurinder Chadha's next
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 9, 2016)

Denzil Smith, who has earlier featured in The Lunchbox, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1 and 2 and Phantom, is now a pivotal part of Gurinder Chadha's upcoming Partition drama, Viceroy's House. He plays the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

"I had auditioned last July and within a few hours got an okay from them. Jinnah was brilliant, and, in my opinion, much misunderstood. He didn't ask for a separate state until 1935 and then there was a definite reason for him to do so. The film shows him negotiating with Mountbatten," says the actor who filmed in Jodhpur for two weeks in September.

"I also lost around 14 kg in a month's time," informs Denzil, who in the course of his research discovered that Jinnah wanted to become an actor at one point.

The film also features British actor Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame and The X Files's Gillian Anderson. Danzil admits to sharing a great camaraderie with them. "I was once rehearsing a scene with Hugh in character. He gestured to me to sit next to him, but given my role, I didn't think it was appropriate and sat opposite him. Gurinder was impressed with the improvisation," he informs, admitting that their director was quite the taskmaster. "But when you're running a tight, big ship, you have to be a little tough sometimes."

Denzil plays a professor in Sid Mallya's debut film, Brahman Naman, which will premier at the Sundance Film Festival. He also plays a doctor in Sanjay Sharma's Paranormal.

Gurinder Chadha's period drama brings them together; keeping them company will be a blind freedom fighter, played by Om Puri
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 2, 2015)

On Sunday, Bend It Like Beckham director, Gurinder Chadha, kicked off an eight-week schedule of her new film, The Viceroy's House, in Jodhpur. Like the title suggests, this Delhi address was the home of the British rulers in India. In 1947, for six months, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, lived upstairs with his wife and daughter. Below, 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants took up residence. Against this turbulent backdrop, a personal and political story plays out, as history is being rewritten.

British actor Hugh Bonneville, best known for his performances in Downton Abbey and Paddington, plays Mountbatten, with The X Files detective, Gillian Anderson, as Lady Mountbatten. Lily Travers of Kingsman fame, plays their daughter, Pamela. Sir Michael Gambon, seen as Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series, and Simon Callow known for his roles in A Room With A View and Four Weddings And A Funeral have been cast as civil servants. Tanveer Ghani plays Jawaharlal Nehru, Denzil Smith is Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Neeraj Kabi is Mahatma Gandhi. The film co-produced by Anil Ambani, also features Om Puri in a prominent role.

Talking about his role, Puri told Mirror from Jodhpur, "I'm Noor, a progressive character from those tumultuous times. He's a freedom fighter who, when in jail, develops a cataract and goes blind. The Partition forced choices on people and when Noor's daughter (played by Huma Qureshi), wants to go to Pakistan, he reluctantly agrees."

Their journey to Pakistan is horrific as every single person in the train is butchered but Noor manages to push his daughter off.

The veteran actor reveals that Gurinder, a dear friend of his, had offered him a role in Bend It Like Beckham too. "I wasn't able to do that but this is a sensitive script and I immediately came on board," he says. Puri is also re-uniting with Manish Dayal, his co-star from the British drama, The Hundred-Foot Journey, who plays a Hindu boy caught in the communal fires which led to the division of a nation and the birth of another.

"Nehru, Jinnah and Sardar Patel are all being played by 'lookalike' Englishmen, with lots of prosthetics," says the actor, who still has eight days of shoot left.

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 29, 2014)