Hamlet's many avatars

(life) The stage is slowly coming to life at the Kamani Auditorium in Mandi House. Amidst the fervent activity of backstage artists, lights being tested and last-minute checks, theatre and film actor Rajit Kapoor, who will be seen in the play 'Mosambi Narangi', an Indian translation of the Irish play 'Stones in His Pockets' for 'Aadyam' Season 5 to be staged on November 2 and 3 in the capital, walks in.

Much relaxed after an elaborate rehearsal, Kapoor, who has always stressed on the need for preparing hard to precipitate the magic of spontaneity, even for on-screen portrayals, stresses, "It is through rehearsal that the details, subtleties and nuances of the character emerges. When I say rehearse, your mind is also working on how you want to play this character. While reading the film script with your co-actors to understand each other's sensibilities, characters that is also rehearsal, so are the sessions with the director. Whatever term you may use - homework, rehearsal...when something is worked upon, your level of performance goes up manifold. Look at actors like Daniel Day Lewis and Naseeruddin Shah. But it is the skill of the actor to make it look spontaneous and effortless."

Pleased that the theatre scene in cities like Delhi and Mumbai has gained much momentum in terms of younger people buying tickets, Kapoor adds, "In the last six years, the big difference is that the 20-year-olds or 20+ youngster is now watching theatre, something which was not the case during our times. But sadly, non-metros are still starved of any kind of entertainment, whether it is drama, music or dance. I don't think the opportunities of going to some of the second-tier cities are there. One can feel that - we recently performed in Indore, and had such a receptive audience."

Debuting on the big screen with Shyam Benegal's 'Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda' and garnering much acclaim for his role in movies like 'The Making of the Mahatma', television series 'Byomkesh Bakshi', besides plays like 'Love Letters' and 'Flowers', Kapoor insists that his approach towards portraying a character remains the same, no matter what the medium.

"What gets altered is that you keep in mind certain technicalities of the medium involved." However, it is the stage that keeps Kapoor, who never took formal training in acting excited. "The challenge is far greater. For someone who has done only film and faced the camera, there are enough security blankets around them and it's not easy for them to come and work on the stage. Whereas a person working on the stage can easily adjust, modify, and manage working on the film. For me, it's a high because it stretches you as an actor way beyond what it can do by working just in cinema. Precisely why, across the globe, great actors always come back to the stage to refresh their skills, and hone their energies."

Mostly associated with independent films, Kapoor insists that catchword is marketing as lines have blurred between "independent" and "mainstream".

"Also, I think the lines between web and others are going to be erased soon too as there are films being made for the digital format. The crucial factor these days is actually the marketing and distribution. Even the budgets are now available, earlier raising money would be a huge problem. The crux has become marketing - to either pre-sell your film or join hands with a big corporate or production house or the biggies involved in the marketing and distribution game so that your product reaches out."

Though excited that OTT platforms have given a tremendous boost to new actors, writers and directors, Kapoor is a bit cautious, "What if the bubble bursts and it goes the television way? Right now, everyone is quality conscious. What remains to be seen is, till when..."

Talk to him about intimate film festivals mushrooming in small towns across India, and Kapoor feels that they go a long way in exposing the residents to a cinema they may not get a chance to see. "It's heartening to see the growing audiences and a lot of good stuff is happening, but sadly it doesn't manage to go beyond the festival circuit. Let us not forget that festivals cannot provide an exposure reminiscent of a cinematic release or television/web. Now again, it's marketing that comes in here."

All praise for 'Aadyam', the initiative by Aditya Birla Group for theatre, Kapoor says, "For the last five years, the group has been pumping much money into theatre which no one does without expecting anything in return. This actually allows you to experiment with scripts that may require budgets which nobody else would contribute."

(The writer can be contacted at sukant.d@.in)

( With inputs from IANS )