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Two decades of happiness…
So, I had planned this article to be the first in the series, but I kept writing about something else every week
So, I had planned this article to be the first in the series, but I kept writing about something else every week. I suppose I did not want to start this series by writing about a close friend, with “nepotism” being a commonly used word now. But this needed writing, especially because running a theatre company successfully for twenty years is no mean feat. And Akarsh Khurana has made running Akvarious Productions look very easy for the last two decades!
I had met Akarsh when he visited Pune as a judge for the primary round at Thespo (For the uninitiated, Thespo is a theatre festival for those who are under twenty-five years of age, organised by Mumbai-based QTP, but more about them on another day). He gave us some advice after the play and we listened to it diligently, knowing fully well that he wasn’t selecting our play for the finals. And I thought that maybe this was the last I will interact with him. I did bump into him from time to time whenever we had a performance at Prithvi, but they were just an exchange of “hellos”.
Amongst all the posters there, I would see the name ‘Akvarious Productions’ regularly. As we started using social media more and more I remember being surprised and envious of the number of shows and new productions AKvarious would churn out. I was a decision maker at a theatre group too and used to wonder how he found the time and the money to do this!
A few years later he cast a friend of mine in one of his productions. Then he cast another friend. And another. Slowly his name started popping up in our regular conversations. I heard how they performed all over India and had amazing food everywhere they went. A few months later I started casting for a Marathi film that I was going to direct and wanted a Hindi speaking actor for a part. His name popped up again and I made the call. Even he agreed readily even though he was working on multiple things (which I later realised, he always is.) While working on the film he asked me if I would like to work in a play he was planning to open in a few months.
I now suspect that he just knew the date when the play had to open and was still undecided about many of its aspects, including the script!
I said “yes” and was waiting for him to call me to Mumbai for rehearsals. As is the custom now, a new WhatsApp group of the team was formed and we all used to chat there. But there was no call for rehearsals! I knew the opening day was close. The other actors used to work with him regularly so they seemed less concerned. Finally, one morning, I got a call for rehearsals! As I had expected (and hoped) there was a lot of good food, conversations and some rehearsal too. It was an interesting process as Akarsh had this knack of extracting whatever he wanted from his actors while letting them explore the character themselves. But what was more interesting was that he was doing it effortlessly. And just like that, we opened our play to good reviews! We performed the play in many cities over the next few years and have worked with each other on multiple projects hence.
Now that I have worked with him for quite a bit and in multiple roles - as an actor when he is directing, his director when he is acting, his director when he is a writer, a writer when he is the director, his co-director on a project - I think I know the secret behind the success of Akvarious and Akarsh.
It’s pretty simple really - he understands people. And by that, I don’t mean his audience, but his team members. And only someone who is honest to the core can do that. He knows how to build a team that is ready to take risks with them. Not all of them work. Some have misfired and have cost him dearly too. But he makes up for it by writing and directing mainstream cinema and web series and then spends that money on producing new plays!
After twenty years, nearly fifty productions and around thirteen hundred shows, I feel that Akvarious has created a tribe of its own. A happy tribe, much like Akarsh. And there can be no bigger success than this.
