‘ARTISTES TOO HAVE GREAT RESPONSIBILITY’

Ex-BNA director & theatre personality Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha shares words of wisdom for upcoming artistes

Theatre veteran and actor-director Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha feels that during pandemic artistes should continue polishing their skills and utilize this free time to the fullest.

“We are in a mid of a pandemic and theatre is ‘kart ki vidya’ (art of doing) so when the time will come it should never be that we are unable to deliver. So, actors and those in other performing art should keep their mind fresh by watching fine content, reading good literature, philosophies, and work on their craft and do web meetings with actors and mentors,” said the former director of Bhartendu Natya Academi, Lucknow.

Kulshreshtha has directed over 100 plays and acted in films like Dasdev, Monsoon Shootout and recently Mira Nair’s series A Suitable Boy. “In March I staged my new play Muntazir in Prayagraj. Thereafter, my wife and I both were tested Covid positive but thankfully we recovered in home isolation.”

Kulshreshtha emphasised that young artistes should use this opportunity to help people in best possible way during the ongoing pandemic and these real-life experiences and incidents will surely help them a lot in future.

Recently, during a webinar ‘Antarang’ held by Sangeet Natak Academi, New Delhi, he gave example of German playwright Berthot Brecht poem: In the dark times will there be singing? Yes, there will also be singing. About the dark times!

He talked about his vision of theatre. “Everyone has their own vision for theatre and with time it keeps evolving. First thing I learnt is that visuals should speak louder than word. By radio show Hawa Mahal I learnt importance of audio which can create visuals while the value of simplicity I learnt from Ram Leela. My real training happened under the influence of stalwarts and learning from BNA. My vision broadened with various theatre forms — realistic, international (western), folk and classics. My canvas widened with reading various philosophies, literature, culture and history.”

Interpreting Russian theatre legend Konstantin Stanislavski theory of 4Ws, in his own way, he said, “For me ‘why’ is hunger for expression. ‘What’ stands for minimalistic theatre — focus on acting than anything else. Whether it is old, classic or new it should be relevant in today’s world! ‘Where’ is all about my wish that bring plays out of auditorium

Artistes must keep their mind fresh by watching fine content, reading good literature, philosophies, & work on their craft SURYA MOHAN KULSHRESHTHA, Actor-director

so it can reach to masses. ‘Who’ is for the actors who should be intensely trained while ‘whom’ one should know the psychology of audience and group behaviour! Then comes ‘how’ and that’s what for in my quest is.”

The theatre stalwart feels that actors have a great responsibility which he sums up with few lines from Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh’s poem: O! Mere adarshwadi man, O! Mere siddhantwadi mann, ab tak kya kiya? Ab tak kya kiya? Jeewan ka jiya…zyada liya aur diya bahutbahut kam…