“Live performances have a vitality of their own,” says actor Manish Chaudhari, who is gearing up to perform his play Antataha in Pune this weekend. Manish has previously explored different mediums of entertainment, be it films, plays or OTT titles and believes that entertainment is all part of the exploration of stepping out.

“I’ve realised that there’s only so much that one can sit at home and watch on OTT these days. I think people have missed going to the theatres during the last couple of years,” says Manish, whose performances in shows like Aarya and Bombay Begums have been appreciated. He adds, “While consumption of content on OTT platforms has skyrocketed since the Coronavirus pandemic struck, audiences are slowly making their way back to cinema halls and live performances now.”

Manish’s upcoming play explores the bond between parents and their children while also tapping into the inevitable moment of life— death. The play showcases how the characters struggle to come to terms with death while also trying to push beyond the concept of “the end” and learning to set themselves free. Manish essays the role of a father who suffers from a physical ailment which often stops him from expressing himself as he would want to. Fed up with the crutches of life, his character patiently awaits his passing.

While the pandemic forced work to slow down, it also gave many a chance to step out of the hamster wheel for some downtime. “A 24-hour work day feels as little as six hours, especially when you live in a city like Mumbai where the pace is very fast. The two years gave me time to take the backseat and helped me learn to breathe instead of being too frantic about things,” he shares.

He also talks about the ‘boycott’ cloud that has been looming over the box office lately. “I don't believe any boycott calls can stop people from going out and looking for entertainment especially when it comes to movies. I think the movies that haven’t worked were because they failed to make an impression on the audience,” he says.

However, the positive side to this, he tells us, is that the entertainment industry has a great opportunity to gear up and fix this issue by telling stories that will bring audiences back to the theatres. He adds, “I think it is just a temporary slump which will get back on track and better from here.”

Anurag Kashyap's period drama, Bombay Velvet, draws inspiration from its screenplay writer, Gyan Prakash's book Mumbai Fables. And Manish Chaudhari who plays charismatic newspaper editor, Jimmy Mistry, admits he based Jimmy on Blitz editor, Russi Karanjia.

“During the initial discussions, I asked Gyan, a professor of modern Indian history at Princeton, which Mumbai club Russi would have frequented? He retorted, 'Russi didn't need to go to a club. He was the 'club', the world came to him.' That line became the spine of my prep,“ says Manish from Bhuj, where he's shooting Ashutosh Gowarikar's period drama, Mohenjo-daro.

As part of his research, Manish visited Russi's closed-up house in Cuffe Parade, went up the stairs to his office, discussed the jazz days with Taj Mahal Foxtrot's author, Naresh Fernandes, and spoke with Russi's colleagues, including Feroze Chandra, about the man who pioneered tabloid journalism in India with a weekly that promoted itself by painting its page one onto the side of the five-storey building opposite its office, the tallest building in Mumbai then.

“Blitz was known for its breaking news but Russi was a journalist of integrity who despite dressing up like an upper-class Parsi championed the cause of the underdog, from factory and mill workers to farmers. His colleagues looked up to him,“ says Manish. Will any of the Blitz scoops make their way into the film? “Some will, won't say which,“ he laughs, adding that Jimmy's nemisis in the film is Karan Johar's character.

Anurag approached him in 2009 after he seeing him in Ranbir Kapoor's Rocket Singh and sent him an early copy of the screenplay in 2012. Later, after seeing Manish working on the details of his look with the sylists and make-up artists, the director playfully told the actor that he may have OCD.

“I ended up with a cigar between my lips and in a safari suit,“ says Manish who met an 80-year-old tailor, working out of the ground floor of the former Blitz building. “He and his father made Russi's suits. His anecdotes and pictures, along with the other research, were my references. I hope Russi's family, friends and colleagues will enjoy Jimmy.“