Mysuru, KARNATAKA :
“Actor’s job is to make audience reflect on social issues bogging society”
by Nandini Srinivasan
Mysore :
“Each one of us needs to find our inner voice and reflect to be able to express without fear and that’s exactly what Bahuroopi’s theme of ‘I sing as I please’ stands for’,” opined well-known theatre and film actor Irrfan Khan.
Speaking at the valedictory of the eight-day theatre repertoire Bahuroopi festival-2016 at Kalamandira, Irrfan Khan said that its only when one’s voice comes from deep within, expressions have an unmatched quality and are heard.
Speaking of his days at National School of Drama (NSD), Irrfan fondly recalled the able guidance of theatre person Prasanna who showed him to the right path to pursue in the field of acting.
Irrfan, who preferred answering questions than delivering a formal speech to express his ideas, took on questions from Journalists, theatre artiste Ramanath and Prof. S.R. Ramesh and spoke at length about films, the tolerant fabric of India and theatre.
Irrfan exuded confidence that India can still be a model for the rest of the world, as we live amidst a vast diversity and yet have no psychopaths who go on shooting sprees like in the so called developed nations!
Responding to a question on the responsibility of actors and their role in real life, Irrfan opined that an actor too is just like any other individual and the role he or she decides to play in real life is completely subjective and personal. Every human being should be responsible, not just actors he said adding that the more evolved an individual is, the lesser the chances of being manipulated.
Life itself is a huge diversity and standardisation of anything is a threat, he said adding we are all so programmed by parents, society and the education system that unless we learn to unplug and think, reflect on our own, reactions too will be standardised and as is happening, we can easily be manipulated in the name of religion, politics and caste.
Talking about the Censor Board and its regulations, Irrfan rued that it is unfortunate that rules formed eons ago are still in place and not changed to suit the current needs. The present set of rules are absolutely redundant, he said.
An actor’s job is to make the audience reflect on several social issues bogging the society, but today he is being asked not to speak and that doesn’t augur well, lamented Irrfan responding to a question on the States’ interference in every field and said Gods, Saints and Sufis are being abducted in the name of politics and even an actor is as vulnerable as others and can become a mere toy!
Black humour isn’t appreciated as much in India as in other countries, probably because the audience finds a lot of subjects very sensitive Irrfan opined referring to his movie ‘Talwar’, and said there isn’t much of a difference between the responses of theatre audience and the movie audience. Its just that in theatre shows, it’s a direct response.
Talking about the changing genre of movies in recent times, Irrfan expressed his happiness over the changing demands of the audience who have become more mature and expect tales that reflect reality and said as an actor, he strongly believes in making his audience think, rather than just entertaining them. “I have acted in roles which have been successful but have only entertained. I’m not happy with only such kind of roles,” he added.
Answering a question on maintaining communal harmony, Irrfan said that unfortunately religion hasn’t been applied rightly to society as it should have been. People have gone into a slumber and only when they are shaken up can things move smoothly.
He recalled his lines in ‘Life of Pi,’ Doubt is kind of essential in faith – When you doubt you seek, when you seek you test and when you test you conclude.
Answering a question from the audience on whether he took up the role of Pan Singh Tomar because he too was an athlete, Irrfan said he being an athlete was irrelevant and what touched him was how a talented athlete turned a dacoit. The movie was a sweet love letter to the system where talent is not being respected, where we don’t care about talent.
Irrfan expressed his happiness about the response of the audience to the festival and said just when you think there’s no hope, the love for theatre, the excitement and interest in the good things of life brings back the rays of hope that everything will be alright.
Irrfan and his wife Sutapa Sikdar were all praise for Mysuru. “Your city has a kind of rhythm and lifestyle that the so called developed cities lack. Please keep it that way,” he said.
Earlier, columnist Nataraj Huliyar, in his address, said that this year’s Bahuroopi saw a record audience of 12,000 with more than 600 artistes performing in various events.
Rameshwari Verma, a well-known theatre artiste, who was one of the chief guests, fondly recollected her connections with Rangayana ever since its inception and said, it was heartening to see the increasing number of theatre lovers thronging such festivals. The crowd which was limited to around 300 in the early years has swelled to more than 1,000 and that speaks volumes for the work Rangayana has been doing, she said.
Former Minister Prof. B.K. Chandrashekar, who also spoke, said that like the natyashastra says, drama is the fifth Veda which tells us more about life. He recalled the words of late Prof. H. Narasimhaiah who had a big question mark framed and hung behind his table and said the central purpose of any education is to question.
Rangayana Deputy Director S.I. Bhavikatte welcomed the gathering. Earlier, Folk teams from different States entertained the audience.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Thursday – January 21st, 2016