Actor Avantika Akerkar’s life has been a series of happy coincidences, from her association with The Vagina Monologues to playing Indira Gandhi in the forthcoming Bal Thackeray biopic
Anuka Roy (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 2, 2018)

Actor Avantika Akerkar believes in serendipity. That’s how her life has been so far — full of serendipitous twists and turns. She moved back to Mumbai in 2000 after living in the US for two decades (post college) to work here during the dotcom ‘boom’. But she lost her job when that bubble burst. While in the US, Akerkar was determined never to wait tables. But once unemployed, she became a bartender at her brother Rahul Akerkar’s restaurant, Indigo (which has now shut down). “I was only helping out. And I got to meet the most amazing people and hear the most incredible stories,” says Akerkar with a laugh, as we point out the contradiction.

The actor, who is going to play Indira Gandhi in the forthcoming Bal Thackeray biopic, says acting, too, happened by chance. In 2001, she had got in touch with family-friend Dolly Thakore and expressed her desire to act. “She called me a few days later to say that her son, Quasar, was directing a play called Lunch Girls and if I would be interested?”

Akerkar agreed right away, but on the opening night, had a bad case of nerves. The first thought that crossed her mind was “what the hell am I doing here?” Akerkar adds, “It’s been a journey since then.”

Akerkar has also, notably, been a part of the Indian adaptation of The Vagina Monologues (alongside Thakore and others), again quite by chance. Coincidentally, the play premiered at Prithvi Theatre, where we met Akerkar for this interview. Sitting cross-legged on a wrought iron chair in the green room, Akerkar says about the opening night of Monologues: “We were told to keep our bags packed and our passports handy because we weren’t sure what would happen at Prithvi after the staging [of the controversial production]. We were warned we might have to go into hiding for a few days.” Thankfully, nothing happened – except that the play ran to packed houses for years after.”

Currently, Akerkar is playing Naseeruddin Shah’s wife in Motley’s latest production, The Truth. About the Thackeray biopic, she says: “I got a call informing me that Sanjay Raut [politician and producer of the film] would like to speak to me. I had a meeting with the team, and was briefed about my role in the film,” she says. “The meeting went really well, but I just asked one thing: I hope you have the Thackeray family’s permission,” Akerkar says, with her signature vivacious laugh.

Naseeruddin Shah will be next seen in The Truth, acomedy about adultery, because he’s “quite tired of playing intense, suffering parts”
Ekta Mohta (MID-DAY; November 4, 2018)

Between 2010 and 2012, French playwright Florian Zeller had written two brilliant plays called The Father and The Mother. Naseeruddin and Ratna Pathak Shah, the father and mother of Motley, staged the former last year, and the latter is on their “to-do list.”

In 2011, Zeller had also written The Truth, a breezy comedy about infidelity, a popcorn break between two serious works. The Shahs, following Zeller’s steps to the tee, are now ready with their adaptation of The Truth, which will premiere at Prithvi Theatre and Royal Opera House this week, as part of Prithvi Theatre Festival, and will also enjoy a month- long run at Prithvi from November 20 to December 16.

In The Father, a proud, intelligent, snarky man disintegrates, right before your eyes, into a doddering, old fool, as dementia takes over. Since the play ran for two successive months, Naseeruddin, who played the lead, put himself through the wringer, night after night. He says, “We ended up doing 58 shows within the space of three months, when we normally get to do 50 or 60 shows over a period of 10 years. It was a condensed experience.”

The reason he wanted to jump into The Truth was because, “It promised to be fun, and quite a different pace from The Father, which was a great relief because I’m quite tired of playing intense, suffering parts. I felt like doing something light-hearted.” Ratna, who is helming the production, adds, “The Father is a very, very painful view and experience of watching the man lose himself entirely. It’s not nice for the audience to watch as well. It’s a great piece of writing, but it’s heartbreaking as well. This is not. This is, in fact, so effervescent; it’s almost like a joke. That made me wonder: if one is to do a farce, which is so lightweight and delightful on the surface, is there anything else under it?”

The Truth’s characters have been described by the British press (it’s been translated into English by Christopher Hampton) as urban sophisticates; the kind who wear their cold, little hearts on their sleeves. The main protagonist, KC, is sleeping with his best friend’s wife. After breaking the trust of all who love him, he tries to smooth things over with white lies. When we ask Naseeruddin if playing a womaniser at his age feels alright, he cites the example of the patron saint of womanisers: “Haven’t you heard of Hugh Hefner?” he laughs. “That’s my answer.” Ratna says, “We were wondering if we should do it with a younger cast. Naseer read it and said, ‘I think it can be done with an older man.’ [The age difference actually] adds many other dimensions.”

While rhapsodising about the script, Naseeruddin recounts a dialogue from the play, “‘The truth: the advantages of concealing it, the perils of revealing it.’ Right till the end, you don’t know whose version to believe. I personally found it very funny, and I hope the audience does as well. He [Zeller] knows his onions as far as theatre is concerned. His observations of people are bang-on. I’m certain the play will raise a lot of uncomfortable questions in a lot of people’s heads. There are always dark areas in any marriage, in any relationship. Those dark areas come to the surface in the play.”

WHEN: November 6 at Prithvi Theatre; November 9-10 at Royal Opera House
Entry: Rs 300-Rs 2,500
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