Raghubir Yadav’s undying passion for theatre

Senior actor Raghubir Yadav talks about his love for theatre, how he learnt acting and his new teleplay, Bagiya Bancharam Ki.

Senior actor Raghubir Yadav calls the theatre his “jaan”. “It’s in my blood. Par jab se main Mumbai aaya, theatre chutt sa gaya tha,” says the Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne actor. He admits that whenever he gets a chance, he is only too happy to return to the theatre. “I have grown up with theatre and whatever I have learnt and whatever I have done in my career — be it films or TV is thanks to the training from theatre. Kaam karne ka saleeka theatre se aaya,” he adds.

Raghubir says, earlier theatre artistes couldn’t meet that often but now, they have interacted more virtually in this pandemic. (IANS)

A while ago, he shot for a teleplay, Bagiya Bancharam Ki, which was a novel experience for him. He shares. “It is a comedy about power and pride, set in a village with the zamindari system as a backdrop. The satirical play shows that true happiness lies not in possession but elsewhere. Theatre has seen a lot of glory and immense popularity but since the television era, and of course films, actors were not as interested in theatre and it got sidelined. Doing theatre, for many, became a stepping stone to films and TV. Now, people are beginning to understand and appreciate theatre again. It has so much to offer regarding literature. The one thing that has remained consistent for me is my undying passion for art.”

The 63-year-old picked up music and reading too during this free time. “Lockdown mein tapasya ho gayi. I did a lot of introspection and did things which I couldn’t give time due to work commitments earlier. I really enjoy acting and music and I am glad that I could get time to read a lot and check out some of the old books I had, and also focus on my music. I enjoyed the lockdown and utilised it well. We never get such opportunities, so instead of getting stressed about what to do, mauke ka fyada uthana chahiye,” he says with a grin.