New Delhi, Sept 23: Actor Sumeet Vyas says theatre, unlike movies, is an “actor’s medium” as it is the artiste on stage who holds the reins of the show.
Vyas, who featured in and co-wrote the play “One on One Dhamaal” at the ongoing Delhi Theatre Festival here on Saturday, said the medium is “more gratifying” than cinema in which the actor has almost “zero control” over most of the aspects.
“Theatre is a live medium where you get an instant response as opposed to cinema, where as an actor, you have zero control over how it is going to look, how the editor is going to edit it, how the director is going to perceive it, when it will release or how will the audience like it.
“So, you have very little control over that. However, theatre is essentially an actor’s medium. When the actor is on stage, he has the reins of the show. He could make or break it,” Vyas told PTI in an interview.
But, the actor believes the comparison between theatre and cinema or even OTT platforms is “unfair” as there is a huge difference between the money involved in an onstage production and a full-fledged movie or web series.
That said, according to Vyas, remuneration for stage actors has improved over the years.
“To just give you a ballpark comparison, at that time we would get Rs 100-Rs 150 for a show, today actors get in thousands, Rs 3,000-Rs 5,000 per show.
“So, I would say if an actor is doing three-five shows monthly, he or she can sustain themselves as opposed to back in the day when it was impossible to sustain themselves purely in theatre,” said the actor, known for movies “English Vinglish”, “Veere Di Wedding” and web series “Permanent Roommates” and “Tripling”.
The 41-year-old actor also talked about film actors trying their hand at theatre, adding he would love to watch superstar Ranbir Kapoor perform on stage.
“His performances are from the gut. There is a lot of truth and mystery in his performances. I would love to watch him on stage, I think he would be fantastic,” he added.
Admitting that he hasn’t acted in any new stage productions of late, Vyas said plays are time consuming and he was unable to balance between theatre and his other work commitments.
His directorial play “Purane Chawal”, which featured Kumud Mishra and Shubhrajyoti Barat, focused on two yesteryear stars who have now fallen on tough times, was held last year at the Prithvi Theatre Festival.
“It takes a month-and-a-half to mount a play and then you have shows, and more often than not the dates of the show are always colliding with a film shoot or shoot of a web show. I consciously stayed away from coming up with a new play because I was unable to balance it,” explained the actor, currently busy with the post-production work of his upcoming directorial web series “Raat Jawaan Hai”.
However, Vyas hopes this long hiatus from theatre won’t happen again as now he can afford to pick plays over other projects.
“Now at this stage of my life I have that luxury to tell people that I am not available on this date because I have a play. There is a stage in your career where you are also a little vulnerable that I’ll miss out on work, this or that,” he added.
“One on One Dhamaal” saw nine of Mumbai’s finest actors, including Rajit Kapur, Vrajesh Hirjee and Shikha Talsania, deliver monologues and duologues in English and Hindi. It addresses subjects as varied as marriage, Bollywood, inedible airline food, the politics of road naming ceremonies, and the experience of living in a big city.
The fifth edition of the Delhi Theatre Festival, which started on September 20, also featured performances by the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Shabana Azmi and Lillete Dubey.
The shows were staged at the Siri Fort Auditorium, Kamani Auditorium, and OP Jindal Auditorium in Delhi, and Orana Conventions in Gurugram. (PTI)
