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Ludhiana | Audiences back in theatre halls with renewed zeal: Rajit Kapur
“I am a theatre artist first, then an actor in films. Theatre and film artists have different lifestyles, as discipline is a must in the former,” Rajit Kapur said. He is the lead actor in the play “The Siddhus of Upper Juhu” which was staged at Guru Nanak auditorium in Ludhiana on Saturday.
After a two-year break due to Covid, theatre lovers are back to watching live performances with a renewed zeal, said veteran Rajit Kapur, who is the lead actor in the play “The Siddhus of Upper Juhu” which was staged at Guru Nanak auditorium on Saturday.
Kapur, a National Award-winning actor, first shot to fame with his performance in the 80s Doordarshan programme Byomkesh Bakshi in which he played a detective. “I am a theatre artist first, then an actor in films. Theatre and film artists have different lifestyles, as discipline is a must in the former,” he added.
He said the play brings to fore the chaos and stress of city life faced by a middle-aged couple living in their sea-facing apartment in Mumbai’s rich suburb. The 90-minute play has been directed by Rahul-Da Cunha and was organised by Ludhiana Sanskritik Samagam. Kapur plays the role of Balvinder Sidhu aka Bubbles, a middle-aged finance executive and Shernaz Patel plays his Parsi wife Behroze.
The play, which has already been staged in places like Singapore, Dubai and Sydney, will also be performed in Amritsar, which is Rajit’s birthplace. Da Cunha, Kapur and Patel had performed together in the Rage Theatre Group in 1992.
Kapur also addressed a press conference with other members of the cast including Patel, Meera Khurana, Kajali Sharma and Prince Kanwal before the performance.
Kapur, who also performed in Chandigarh on Friday, said he is visiting Ludhiana after almost 18 years. He added that schools and theatres in Chandigarh have developed a disciplined culture of plays and Punjab Naatshala in Amritsar also hosts them regularly, most of which are rooted in Punjab.
He said people of Ludhiana should also take the initiative because it is never too late. He added that theatre and other art forms should be nurtured in the early years of life and be a mandatory part of extra-curricular activities at the school level.
Talking about the outstanding performance of South Indian movies compared to mainstream Bollywood, he said, “Films made in south have excelled because of better scripting and also because people are more disciplined”
Talking about the rise of OTT platforms, Shernaz Patel, who made her debut with the play Diary of Anne Frank in 1984, said, “Most actors on OTT platforms are from theatre and have been putting on great performances, as they are trained in teamwork, discipline, focus, character building, and live voice modulation on stage.”
Prince Kanwal, who portrays the role of Rajit’s brother, said, “It is a general perception that only those who cannot achieve anything else get into theatre, which is wrong and needs to be changed.”
