Delhi may still not have a strong theatre culture like Kolkata or Mumbai, but people here are developing a taste for theatre, believes thespian actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda, who recently performed in Atmakatha, a theatre production from Kolkata-based Padatik, which was invited at India Habitat Centre on its completion of 15 years. “Only people can tell how was the play, but I am happy to perform in Delhi, the place I did my schooling and college from and became a part of the theatre group Yatrik in the 1960s,” shares Kulbhushan, who extended his stay in the capital to meet his family members.
Refuting that Atmakatha is his comeback to theatre, the actor says he was never away; it was only that he was not too active. “I did a play called Sakharam Binder which ran from 1991 to ’95, much after I started doing movies. So, effectively Atmakatha is not my comeback. I was always involved with theatre, especially with Padatik, which I co-founded. Just that I did not take up too many projects because I am a lazy guy who can’t actually organise anything. Last year I was sitting at home without any work because of an accident — I fell off a horse and underwent three major surgeries — the director (Vinay Sharma) came to me with the play. I read it, liked it and decided to do it,” says Kulbhushan, who is an established actor in Bollywood and Punjabi film industry.
Talking about playing Rajadhyaksha, his character in Atmakatha, Kulbhushan says that it shows human emotions in different shades. “Every person has shades of grey and the equilibrium changes with each passing moment. This is what this character is all about. It’s a writer who is writing his autobiography and shows different emotions in different situations,” he says.
Kulbhushan has essayed this character more than ten times by now. “Atmakatha is a good play like a good book, something that you read again and again. Playing this character gives me food for thought,” he adds.
Drawing a comparison between theatre cultures in big cities, Kulbhushan says Delhi has a lot to learn. “I am not saying there are no theatre lovers here, but the culture is still evolving. Reason being North still is a babu sheher where people want theatre tickets as complimentary passes. When majority of the tickets are given out like this, there are hardly any tickets left for the serious audience. And the major issue is that even after procuring the tickets, many people do not turn up. So the actors perform in front of scanty audience when the auditorium has a houseful board outside,” he opines.
Kulbhushan says he loves doing theatre for the pure love of instant reaction from the audience. “You can’t compare theatre and movies as the two are very different. Both have different techniques and disciplines. As a movie actor, you have to be in a character for a very long time, but theatre does not have this restriction. Then stage gets you instant reaction from the audience which is not possible in case of movies, as there you wait for the release date which may be six months or a year later, and you lose the warmth by then. So ultimately, movies are director’s medium and stage is an actor’s medium,” he concludes.