Dayashankar lives with me: Ashish Vidyarthi

While Ashish Vidyarthi may have played many prominent roles in his prolific career in films, theatre and television, there is one character which is extremely close to his heart. His role in Dayashankar Ki Diary, which has completed 20 years, was offered to him when he was going through a difficult phase in his life. The play is a dramatised memoir of a man who could not live up to his own dreams. Here, the actor speaks about the character and how it has managed to stay relevant even today:

It’s been 20 years to Dayashankar Ki Diary. To what do you attribute the longevity of the play? 

I think it is the humanness of the story. So many of us have moved to another city, and it’s across strata, economic divides, educational status etc, but we have found ourselves in a new city with its new challenges. So there is something about Dayashankar that people connect with. Even for people who have wanted to come here, it is like a journey they did not take, and people who have moved find a resonance for the journey they have taken. It is something like a David and Goliath scenario, where people from small towns come to seek relevance in a larger place. That is why it has worked even in smaller towns and even when we went to Dubai. 

Another powerful thing about it is the spoken quality of the play. It’s everyday language. People try to process a lot of things before saying them. But Dayashankar is the kind of person who says whatever comes to his mind, it need not be the right thing to say.

Do you remember the first show you did at Nehru Centre in 1997? 

Yes, I do. It was really scary...

But you have done monologues before that, so why was this scary? 

I had been doing monologues for a while before this play. For the platform performance at Prithvi Theatre, I did The Birth of the Jongleur by Dario Fo. There was another performance I did, Nirmal Verma’s Dedh Inch Upar. But this was scary as it goes into many, many territories. Also, this was a full length play, a new piece. Dedh Inch Upar had been done so many times, whereas this was and still is a work in progress. It is confronting because I come on stage and don’t go off till the end. And while I’m up there, there are so many roles within roles that happen.

After 20 years of performing it, how do you keep the show alive for yourself?

The scare keeps it alive. I would be lying if I say I don’t find it scary each time I come on stage. But it’s the joy and the kick of performing in front of the audience, and there’s a whole new way of looking at things each time. That’s also what keeps it valid for me as an actor. The audience reaction, too, changes from city to city and show to show. People relate to some things somewhere, other things elsewhere.

Did you relate to the character at the time, since you too had moved from Delhi to Mumbai? 

Oh yes, and I was going through an amazing period in my life. Let’s leave it at that (smiles). It was the straw that I hung onto at that time in my life. It’s a funny thing that when things happen in an actor’s life, at some point it’s just a performance, at another, it’s a part of your life. My life cannot be without Dayashankar. He lives with me.

Along with films, television and theatre, you have also been engaging in corporate conversations...

For the last six years, other than films, television and theatre, I have also been engaging in corporate conversations called Avid Miner conversations, where I speak about tapping the greatness within. I have created programmes and speeches for them. I’m as involved with this as much as I’m involved in other endeavours. I’m essentially a traveller. I love to do many things.