Shweta Tripathi: Entertainment not tagged 'essential services', but needed always

New Delhi, Aug 31 'Masaan' actress Shweta Tripathi Sharma says that performing arts will always exist. "I know we aren't labelled as essential services but no matter what you do, you will always need entertainment," she told life in an interview.

Shweta, 35, has acted in "Timeloss", a digital play produced by Akvarious Productions which premiered with Front & Centre, Paytm Insider's theatre initiative, on August 29. Adapted and directed by Akarsh Khurana, "Timeloss" was originally written by the celebrated Iranian playwright Amir Reza Koohestani. The story highlights the complexities of lost time through the past and present lives of two actors as they re-examine their relationship while revisiting a past production. The play's cast includes Chaitnya Sharma, Dilshad Edibam Khurana, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, and Siddharth Kumar.

Q: On her engagement with theatre and acting

A: My parents and sister were always culturally inclined. Since I can remember, we used to watch Prithvi Theatre Festival plays, visit Kamani auditorium in Delhi regularly, and watch Hema Malini's dance recitals. My dad's an IAS officer and mom's a teacher, now both retired, and they believed that you get what knowledge you can from books but your personality develops through the arts. So ever since I was a child, I was encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities and I enjoyed being on stage. The support you get from your family and the life lessons they teach you are equally important as your craft and skills. How this has helped me through the years is that stage fright isn't a feeling I've had. There are butterflies and excitement but never fear and theatre has helped me with that.

I only started acting professionally on stage once I moved to Bombay

( With inputs from IANS )