Theatre was never for a niche audience, says Vardhan
The grandson of legendary actor Amrish Puri, Vardhan Puri, was a part of the theatre world before venturing into films. The Yeh Saali Aashiqui (2019) actor feels that the theatre scene in the city has always been great. “Theatre in Mumbai has always been exceptional. We have fantastic people like Sunil Shanbag, Makarand Deshpande, Saloni Shukla and Naseeruddin Shah, among others. Theatre has always been more experimental than cinema. The kind of movement the theatre industry has seen since the ’70s is phenomenal. I wish more people would walk into stage plays and patronise it. The demand is there, but it could be far more,” he says.
Ask him if there is enough involvement of the youth in the theatre industry, and he says, “A lot of them, including my friends, are not even aware of the theatre movements that are going on in the city. But it is amazing to see how my friends, after watching a play, have become patrons of it. There has to be more awareness about the quality of theatre that we have.”
Vardhan, who in an interview had mentioned how his grandfather pushed him to pursue theatre, says that the government can help the industry grow. “I feel the government can do a lot to help theatre, especially in terms of funding. Once the government steps in and supports, it can be magical,” shares Vardhan.
So, does he think theatre is only for a niche audience? “Theatre was never for a niche audience. But it carries the potential of being more mainstream than films. It can touch upon topics that films cannot. In theatre, you are directly interacting with the audience and you get an instant reaction,” he explains.
A lot of senior theatre actors have pointed out that younger actors get into movies and never return to theatre. Does he agree? “I feel young actors these days are well prepared as the competition is crazy. Having said that, if senior actors feel strongly about this scenario, then they have a point. They come with so much experience that they are able to see some factors which I, probably, am not able to see,” he concludes.