As told to Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; June 5, 2020)

Writer Sujit Sen had recommended me to Basu da for Byomkesh Bakshi. When I met him, he was thoroughly prepared with the script of 30-plus episodes. The fictional Bengali detective, created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, may be a top-notch sleuth, but in Basu da's world, he was without frills or overt gestures.

Since Basu da had written the script, he asked me to tell him if I found anything wrong with the [construction] of the Hindi [dialogues]. Even though it was my first collaboration with him, I was not apprehensive. In our first meeting, he had clearly told me his vision — keep it simple, and I followed his advice.

As a filmmaker, he was organised and professional. If he asked the crew to report to the set at 9 am, you could be assured that the shoot would begin latest by 9.20 am. We used to wrap up by 6 pm and go home. Besides me, K K Raina, Sukanya Kulkarni and Kartik Dutta featured in every episode.

The set was minimal, and the styling basic, yet the audience was hooked to the whodunit. The credit goes largely to Basu da. Almost 30 years later, I am still remembered for the show. It is being aired again as part of the Coronavirus lockdown line-up. It has been re-telecast several times earlier, but it is grabbing attention now because everyone is home.

Rajit Kapur talks about his new play, Mosambi Narangi, and how theatre continues to be his first love
Sanskrita Bharadwaj (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 12, 2019)

For actor Rajit Kapur, who is known for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in Making Of The Mahatma (1996), it is not films but theatre that he considers to be his base and his “first love”. “I love films as well but the interaction with a live audience is the reason why I have stuck to theatre for so long. That transmission of energy between the audience and myself, gives me a big high,” says Kapur.

Having acted in plays such as A Walk In The Woods, and A Few Good Men, Kapur says, things have changed drastically in theatre over time. “There’s a lot of new writing coming into the theatre world. There are more and more people coming in from the younger generation to see live performances. When we started acting, there were more people in the age group of 30s who came to see theatre. Now, even 20-year-olds are thronging,” he says.

When asked if young actors have more affinity towards gaining fame on social media rather than enhancing their craft, he says, “If a person is grounded and has worked on stage, she/he has an advantage over those who are just jumping into the water.”

Kapur, who is also known for his portrayal of the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi in the eponymous television series that was broadcast on Doordarshan in the ’90s, was last seen in the play Mosambi Narangi, directed by Mohit Takalkar. The play, which is about two junior artists, shooting on a film set is translated by Ashok Mishra from the award-winning play Stones In His Pockets, by Marie Jones. “These two junior artists are played by myself and Ajeet Singh Palawat. We also play the other characters that the two artists (Mosambi and Narangi) play on the film set. As actors, it is challenging for both of us to adapt to that structure. The beauty of this play is that we get to create so many characters,” he explains.

The play, Kapur adds, is also about the “hopes and disappointments, and dreams and aspirations of Mosambi and Narangi”. Talking about the process of preparing for the play, he says that he spent a lot of time with the script. “It is important to understand who these other characters are, so that they don’t appear as caricatures. As actors, we’ve spent almost three months on this play,” he signs off.