Roles are like girlfriends, you always like the latest one the most: Saurabh Shukla

Saurabh Shukla is among a handful of actors to essay with elan such diverse characters as grungy gangster (Kallu mamma in Satya, 1998), a cornered police officer (Sudhanshu Dutta in Barfi, 2012) and a resigned judge (Justice Tripathi in Jolly LLB, 2013). The last movie, the sequel to which released earlier this year, earned him a National Award, but few would know that Shukla's tryst with Bollywood, and in the performance space goes back to the 1980s. While he has acted in nearly 80 movies, including in Bandit Queen, he's directed and written more than a dozen others. Yet, his heart lies firmly in the quiet environs of theatre. Shukla made his stage debut in 1984 and joined the NSD Repertoire Company in 1991. His commitment to the stage continues to this day, with the 54-year-old set to perform the role of a doctor in his play Barff — a thriller that entwines the parents of an ailing child and an unsuspecting doctor over one winter night in Kashmir.

As a child, you tried your hand at drawing, painting, cricket and table-tennis. How did you choose a career in theatre?

As a child, I was good at painting, and everybody thought that I would be a painter. After some point though, the passion died as I didn't have the imagination to be a painter. Then, as is the case with every Indian boy, I too wanted to be a cricketer. And even though I was a good off-spinner, I wasn't good enough. Then I played table-tennis... and realised that I wasn't the best. But when I come to theatre, it felt natural. People kept telling me that I'm not just good but very good. So I kept at it, and am still doing that.

How did acting happen?

In 1948, I wrote and directed my 1st play, Sab Chalta Hai — the first play I wrote and directed. One day, a cast member was missing and I had to fill in. It was a small role but it worked for me and I thought why not acting?

Which roles have been instrumental in bringing you to this stage in life?

There've been many roles. But there are two movies that have brought to me where I stand in my career today — Barfi and Jolly LLB. My career received a second inning after these two movies. As an actor though, I did a play that gave me the confidence to take on any role. This was Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge in which I played the role of Eddy, for which I was hugely applauded.

What kept you away from theatre?

Although I started with theatre, I've wanted to be a filmmaker since childhood. After moving to Mumbai in 1993, I spent all my time making a mark in the field. It was difficult to manage both film and theatre. My training has been such that I've dedicated himself to theatre. It was only after reaching a certain stage that I could stop working in films for a certain period. I am now good at juggling both.

Also, I have enough choice now and fortunately, acting is not just about money at the moment. I can pick-and-choose (the roles) that I like. Obviously, this principle goes out of the window when there is a monetary crunch.

You wear various hats: writer, actor, director. Which one is your favourite?

I only wear the hats that fit me well. Be it writing, acting or directing, I enjoy it all. I have only one life and I will do everything that I can.

Have you ever had a writer's block?

Yes, and it was terrible! For a year or so in 2008-2009, I couldn't write. I would try to write every day and it was very frustrating, but I didn't give up.

Tell us about your play Barff, which will be performed for the Delhi Theatre Festival.

It belongs to the thriller genre — a rare genre in Hindi theatre. The play is set in Kashmir, but is not a political comment on the state. It is a story about lies whirling around desperate parents of an ailing child and a doctor. Even so, the politics of land seeps in as it affects everyone as every story in Kashmir.

The story lived with me for nearly six-seven years. At that point it wasn't set in a specific place. I happened to visit Kashmir to shoot a film and loved the place. I also realised that be it people or land, everything is beautiful but there is a sense of fear and mistrust here. This was essential to my script. The day I transported the story to Kashmir, it made sense and came alive.

You wrote it as a film and not as a play. Why did this change? Was the transformation difficult?

I wrote it as a film and not a play, and the craft for both is very different. It was transformed for the Birmingham Theatre Festival recently. When a movie script turns into a script for a play, there is a huge challenge of the visual... this comes naturally in cinema. So it was essential to retain the cinematic quality. We've managed to do that successfully with the set design, lights and effects.

As an actor, do you have a favourite role?

Never ask an actor what his favourite role is. For actors, roles are like girlfriends. You always like the latest one the most. At the moment, my favourite one is that of Justice Sunderlal Tripathi from Jolly LLB 2.

Barff will be performed at the Siri Fort Auditorium today at 8pm as part of the Delhi Theatre Festival, which ends today