Actor Neil Bhoopalam is on a professional high. His play is being currently staged and his Bejoy Nambiar film Shaitan that released last week has opened to rave reviews. Even before he talks about the film, we quiz him about his upcoming play, A Guy Thing. He elaborates, “The play revolves around Lino and Mitch, an outrageously mismatched pair of strangers who find themselves stranded in a hunting cabin — in the mountains of New Jersey — during a ferocious storm. It is a one hour piece based on just two characters. It is a funny piece that gives you an insight into the male ego.”

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Since Bhoopalam says that the play gives an insight into the male ego, ask him if the female population is going to feel left out? “No, not at all. There is no gender bias involved.” In fact, the play is more popular with the fairer sex, he reveals.

“Ever since we opened the play about a month back in Bangalore, we have been having more women coming to watch the pla,” he says.

Bhoopalam and company have been rehearsing for the play for over a year now. The performance kept getting postponed because people didn’t have the dates and Bhoopalam was also tied up with his other assignments.

While Bhoopalam has been doing theatre for about eight years and has just about started in films, he still finds it difficult to choose between films and television. “I haven’t been doing films for ages and with theatre I cannot be called a novice. I enjoy doing both, especially since my last two films (No One Killed Jessica being one) have done unexpectedly well. Had you asked me this question a couple of years back, I would have definitely chosen theatre but now I find theatre and films both extremely gratifying. It is a very difficult choice for me.”