SAURABH SHUKLA and VINAY PATHAK will be in Delhi this week with their play Barff. PRAKRITI ROY catches up with the veteran performers
A Hindi language thriller, set against the snowy mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, written and directed by the immensely popular Saurabh Shukla. The protagonist, a doctor played by Vinay Pathak. Just this information is enough to get theatre enthusiasts racing to the play Barff that is set to be staged in Delhi next weekend.
The thriller genre is not very common on the Indian theatre circuit, especially Hindi theatre. Saurabh feels that this gap needs to be filled and, hence, Barff was born. “People in India are not experimenting with theatre. Usually in Hindi theatre, the only experiment is with content, ideology or the comedy genre. There are some sociological plays that have the thriller element. But that’s it, only an element,” Saurabh explains.
He reveals that the script was originally written as a film which never got made. “So I decided to adapt it to a theatre script. Because of this adaptation, we had to do a lot of experimentation, as a film is all about visual language and a play is about theatrical elements. Putting these together was the challenge. To show things like winters in Kashmir, we played with various new techniques too,” he says.
Apart from Pathak, the play also stars Sadiya Siddiqui and Sunil Palwal, a graduate from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Seeing how busy actors like Pathak and Sadiya are, Saurabh was not sure if they could pull it off, but they managed to do it because of their determination to be in the play.
Saurabh knew since he started theatre back in 1984 that this is what he is meant for. Even back then, he was writing, directing and acting in plays. “It was just a fascination in childhood, but I realised how much I enjoyed this work. I don’t really prefer one over the other as each has its own joy for me,” he says.
He is planning to write another one next year, as well as movie scripts for Sudhir Mishra and himself. But what is really keeping him busy these days are the film projects he is working on. He says that after PK, he has constantly been shooting films. “I am choosy about my roles and good films take time to make, that’s why you’ve not seen me on the screen. But right now, I am working on Sudhir Mishra’s Aur Devdas, where I have a huge role. I will be featuring in Prakash Jha’s Fraud Saiyyan; it is a travelogue comedy with two main leads Arshad Warsi and me. I am also shooting for Anurag Basu’s Jagga Jasoos,” Saurabh tells you.
“Working with Arshad has brought back memories of Jolly LLB and the great times we had. And with Anurag (Basu) and Ranbir (Kapoor), it is like coming home to work after Barfi. I share very special relationships with all of them,” Saurabh says.
Barff will be staged at The Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Center on October 9.
The article also got published in The Pioneer Newspaper – http://www.dailypioneer.com/sunday-edition/sunday-pioneer/backpack/thriller-on-stage.html
