This weekend, Siddharth Chandekar will woo city audiences with two Marathi plays, Magna Talyakathi, and Yugant. The Zenda (2009) actor has been busy with theatre for a while now and is happy with the way his career has been shaping up.
His current plays feature veterans such as Prasad Oak, Chinmay Mandlekar and Nivedita Saraf, among other names. Speaking about working with these actors, he says, “I have learned many things from them. All of it has become a part of me. I have been fortunate to experience something like this. Both the plays have given me a kind of exposure and experience that films and television haven’t so far.”
The Online Binline (2015) actor feels that while on stage, an actor should learn to surrender completely to the director. He says that a celebrity can have baggage, but an actor on stage has to behave like a rookie and carry no baggage whatsoever.
“I have been a bit choosy about my projects, but I cannot pick a reason as to why I select a project. Sometimes, I love the script but the character offered to me isn’t great, or the character is brilliant, but the script isn’t very good. However, I choose roles only when I feel I can associate with the project.”
Speaking of his theatre days in the city, Chandekar shares, “I remember, in 2007, Mrunmayee Deshpande (actor) and I were participating in a prestigious state-level, one-act play competition through SP College, Pune. We were to reach Mumbai at 4.30pm and our performance was scheduled at 6pm. However, due to an unfortunate incident, we got late and reached the venue after three hours. Ruparel College in Mumbai was gracious enough to switch slots and we were alloted a 11pm slot. We reached Mumbai at 10.30pm, changed in the bus, performed, and even won.”
{{/usCountry}}Speaking of his theatre days in the city, Chandekar shares, “I remember, in 2007, Mrunmayee Deshpande (actor) and I were participating in a prestigious state-level, one-act play competition through SP College, Pune. We were to reach Mumbai at 4.30pm and our performance was scheduled at 6pm. However, due to an unfortunate incident, we got late and reached the venue after three hours. Ruparel College in Mumbai was gracious enough to switch slots and we were alloted a 11pm slot. We reached Mumbai at 10.30pm, changed in the bus, performed, and even won.”
{{/usCountry}}Chandekar feels that some films are worth the gamble and the screen time or other aspects don’t matter. However, he says theatre is like an exercise. “For one to undertake any exercise, one’s core muscle has to be strong. For an actor, theatre is the core muscle. It is never easy to strengthen it, but you have to do it. But once you have achieved that, you lose your inhibitions to perform and the reality is portrayed.”
IBOX:
1. Magna Talyakathi
Where:Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, JM Road
When: December 17
Timing: 5.15pm
2. Yugant
Where: Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, JM Road
When: December 17
Timing: 9.30pm