SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2015(PAGE-4) BOLLYWOOD BUZZ ART & CULTURE “My father is my hero” Amateurs lit up Annual Theatre Festival Sonam Kapoor's last film Dolly Ki Doli may not have done great business at the box office but that Lalit Gupta Sahrma—Adalat Mein Gandhi, Dilshad Ahmed as a Lakhnavi Nawab—in Vatan Fry, Vijay Goswami, Soham Despite non-existent training opportunities and hasn't affected her popularity. The actor and style icon, who is already working on her next Prem Kashyap, Aditya Bhanu—Ik Ha Gadha Urf Alladad Khan, apprenticeships, poor infrastructure, lack of economy Ratan Dhan Paayo and is still a favourite with filmmakers, is excited about her upcoming projects. around theatre topped with measly State re/awards, it Arya veer Singh, Dhanesh Dogra—Komal Gandhar, surely goes to the credit of dedicated lot of the old and Rajesh Ajnabi—Sandhya Shaya. With regards to the In conversation with Gaurav Sharma she speaks on films, life, fashion and more. young amateur theatre enthusiasts of Jammu, who driv- scripts by local playwrights in the festival, the new Hindus- en by their inner calling of heart, made the annual drama tani play by Balraj Bakshi, was conspicuous for mirroring Your last couple of films didn't work out at the box office. Are you worried? festival come alive by performing serious, meaningful as the blatant corruption, nepotism and degradation moral, (Thinks) I feel every actor gives his or her best to make the film look as good as possible. well as entertaining plays. social and national character. Rajneesh Gupta’s new play No one wants a film not to work because there are so many people involved in making a Organized since late 1960’s, by J&K Academy of Art, Shah Sahni in Dogri, through a heart rendering tale of two film. However, it's not in the hands of the actors or the directors to make a film a hit. Culture and Languages, the annual drama festivals, in lovers who suffered lifelong pain in separation, is a wel- When a film doesn't work it certainly hurts but at the same time an actor should try and cities of Jammu and Srinagar, have been providing plat- come script as good addition in modern Dogri literature understand the reason and try to do better in the future. I am not worried but I am form for independent, experimental and contemporary on partition and turbulent history of the region. Shiv even more charged up to do something better than what I did in my last project. theatre groups of the state. Mehta’s Dogri version of Sakha Ra Binder was another You seem to be a lot confident. In the annual theatre festival-2014 which It's not about being confident. I believe there's no point regretting your failures. concluded on March 18, 2015, fourteen local The best thing is to learn from your mistakes and try to do something better. I am theatre groups staged equal number of plays ready to work hard and do more films and give my best to make my films a good that ranged from creative responses to pres- product. ent day socio-political scenario, psycholog- You are also known to be outspoken and have often drawn the ire of many. ical predicaments of society in times of tran- I have always been outspoken and have never hesitated to voice my opinion sition, in a theatre language that bordering if I find something wrong. But I also know to draw the line. I never say from realistic to experimental succeeded in anything with the intent of hurting that person. I think everyone should providing a wholesome entertainment to the- speak up if you don't like something. There's no harm in voicing your atre aficionados of the winter capital. opinion but that certainly doesn't mean hurting someone. The highlight of this year’s festival—that You don't have too many films up your sleeve. in consequence of the closure of Abhinav I think this happens with all the actors. This is something that Theatre since four years, was staged in the can't be controlled. It depends on how many films are you sign- deficient space of GWC, Gandhi Nagar audi- ing and then how many of them are you shooting simultane- torium—was the stellar performances like ously. At times there are three to four films releasing back to ‘Komal Gandhar’ by Pancham Group, ‘The back and then there can be a time when you have only one Last Colony’ by Natraj Natya Kunj, ‘Local Tax film. There are a number of factors that work together and Extra’ by Bhoorang Foundation, followed by it's not in the control of one person. ‘Andha Yug’ by Samooh Theatre, ‘Adalat How do you select films? Is it just the story and Mein Gandhi’ by Yamini Cultural Society and the character you are offered or are there other ‘Ik Ha Gada urf Alladad Khan’ by The Per- parameters. former. good attempt. The Dogri adaptations of Sharad Joshi’s (Smiles) I think every actor follows the simple rule of The production like The Last Séance by Shivani Cul- famous play Ek Tha Gadha by Vijay Goswami, though going by the story of the film. It's the story that attracts tural Society, where the script by playwright actor/direc- managed to entertain the audience due to many local ref- you first and then of course the character. But those are tor Vikram Sahrma being an inter-textual take on the char- erences, but sadly the adaptation came out as a farce not the only two things. I also ask myself the question acters of ‘Devdas’, thus demanding an informed under- rather that a poignant satire. if I will be able to do justice to the role that I am being standing of the original work by the audience, with an This year’s festival also brought focus on works of offered. It also depends on who is making the films. It's apparent over emphasis on aesthetic light and music young directors like Abhishek Bharti, Ravinder Sharma, not about a big name or a debutant director. It's about design, faltered in gripping the attention. Pardeep Sharma, Ashish Sharma and Javed Gill who how much does he believe in the script because he is the Few theatre groups even after selecting good scripts directed The Last Colony, Andha Yug and Shah Shahni, person who's going to lead from the front. I mostly go by and putting up lot of hard work by directors and actors Sakha Ram Binder and Kandyali Taar respectively. Out of the script because a good story is what matters the most. ended up with performances which were a shade lower the above mentioned three directors, only Abhishek Bhar- Co-stars are the last factor. than the standards already set up by earlier performanc- ti is academically trained in Dramatics from Chandigarh You will be seen alongside Salman Khan in Sooraj es by different groups in Jammu. Sandhya Shaya by Rang- while the others are mostly self taught. Gurmeet Kour Barjatiya's Prem Ratan Dhan Payo eight years after mak- shala and Sakha Ram Binder-by Natya Karmi would fall Jamwal impressed as director of Komal Gandhar. ing your debut alongside him in Saawariya. in this category. The dedication and sincerity shown in operating of light The Punajbi play Kandyali Taar by Society for Environ- (Laughs) It's a strange feeling but I am really enjoying it. and sound by Cultural Academy’s technical hands Pankaj ment, Education and Modern art, marked with emphasis Yes, it has been eight years and I think I have come a long way and Lokesh, was thankfully appreciated all theatre groups. on musical portions and competently sung and danced by since then. It's again a romantic film, much like the films Sooraj lead actors, showed an interesting addition in the design Notwithstanding the conspicuous absence of well known Barjatiya is known for making. We have already shot for a few as compared to earlier performances by the play. Many theatre groups like Natrang, Amateur and Rangyug, the portions. I am really excited about this film because I have grown new faces which brought in new set of audience, was drama festival 2014, emerged as a forceful statement up watching both Sooraj Barjatiya and Salman Khan's films such as another achievement of the group. about the vibrancy of the theatre scene in which number Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. It was every aspiring In reference to the acting by female actresses, the fes- of amateur theatre enthusiasts come together every year actor's dream at that time be part of such films. I too dreamt the same tival saw excellent performances by senior actress like to stage plays not only to vie for measly state awards but and today I am working with them. It's really a dream come true for Gurmeet Kour Jamwal (as Gandhari in Komal Gandhar), to celebrate the joy of being creative as well as being able me. Meena Peer ( Local Tax Extra), while the other noticeable to make a difference in the lives of citizens of Jammu Do you discuss films at home with your father and uncles? actresses who left their mark were Archana Sharma (as through meaningful plays. It's not that we always talk films whenever we are at home. There Lakshami in Sakha Ram Binder), Mousami Thakyal and One only wishes that given the immense talent of local are so many other things to discuss and talk about at home.