Theatre is more gratifying than films: Randeep Hooda

Actor Randeep Hooda may not be working on several Bollywood projects, but theatre keeps him busy. Having been associated with Naseeruddin Shah’s theatre group, Motley Theatre Troupe, for a long time now, the actor is excited about their latest play, Arms And The Man which is being presented by India Foundation For The Arts.

Staging the theatre piece in Bangalore this evening at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, Randeep is all set to present the play to an ‘intelligent’ audience, as he insists. “This is a typical George Bernard Shaw play, complete with elements to entertain an audience. It delves into true love, heroism and some confused relationships that are pretty baffling even in the current social structure,” informs Randeep.

The play, directed by Naseeruddin Shah also has Ratna Pathak Shah, Faezeh Jalali and Shivani Tanksa in pivotal roles. Quiz him on his association with Naseeruddin’s theatre troupe and he says, “I’ve known him since my Monsoon Wedding days and it’s been wonderful knowing him and Ratna. This is my third play with the troupe and it’s both inspiring and motivating for me to work with such stalwarts.”

Recalling his memories about theatre, Randeep informs that the bug has always been there. “My first stint with theatre was in school, where I was asked to wear a lion mask and roar for several minutes. My parents came to see me with a lot of expectations and sadly, they couldn’t even recognise me on stage because of the mask,” he states.

Contrary to misconceptions about difficulties in finding sponsors for the stage, Randeep feels people are relaxed with funds now.

"Theatre is alive and we’ve seen some great work lately. It does target a certain section of the audience, but even sponsors are waking up to theatre,” he explains. Shuffling between films and theatre shows, Randeep adds that the latter is more gratifying.

"Though I love working for both, the learning process is wider in theatre and you always end up learning new things in every performance. The actor too has a lot of potential as he is performing for a live audience. I would love to keep doing theatre,” he signs off.