World Theatre Day: ‘Theatre is my happy place’, says director Akarsh Khurana

Akvariousrsquos twodecade relationship with theatre began in December 2000 Since then the theatre group has grown by leaps and bounds From adapting literary gems like Khaled Hosseinirsquos lsquoThe Kite Runnerrsquo to staging the immensely popular play lsquoDekh Behenrsquo with an allwoman cast and crew it has been quite an eventual journey says founder Akarsh KhuranaEven during the Covid19 lockdown Akvarious kept audiences engaged with online performances via their Instagram page Khurana tells Middaycom in a freewheeling chatExcerpts from the interviewAR Itrsquos been 20 years since you started Akvarious Looking back how would you describe your journeyAK Twenty years is a long time but it doesnrsquot really feel like that We were so young and started so long ago and I almost donrsquot remember the early years But I also feel like everything happened very fast Honestly I donrsquot think we had a concrete plan when we started We were doing something we liked and before we knew it we had completed 10 years And 20 years happened quite organically it just felt like one thing led to another in an almost casual mannerAR The Khuranas are a family of performers Tell us how your family influences your workAK They influence my work in very different ways My father actordirector Akash Khurana had done theatre for so many years and this was one of the reasons why I was interested in theatre He exposed me to the world and I found it very appealing My mother Meera Khurana who also directs and acts was always involved when my father was doing plays ndash she would do the costumes and handle production so it felt very natural I also met my wife Dilshad Edibam through theatre Shersquos an actor and playwright and a psychologist ndash she brings in a lot of new perspective My brother Adhaar Khurana on the other hand actually didnrsquot want to do theatre He wanted to become a forensic biologist but eventually organically was roped into acting roles He really helped Akvarious he brought the youth into our plays ndash not only in terms of audiences but in terms of content A lot of urban and contemporary content came from Adhaar I think they all influence things in a particular way For example Dilshad felt that there werenrsquot enough good roles for women in the plays we were doing hence lsquoDekh Behenrsquo which is one of our biggest hits I being married to a psychologist decided that my ninth childrenrsquos play lsquoWhat Planet Are You Onrsquo would be about ADD attention deficit disorder My mother likes to work with slightly emotional content And Dad of course is quite a maverick I had the courage to take on a play like lsquoThe Kite Runnerrsquo knowing that he would pull off the most critical figure of the father Baba We tend to involve each other a lot in our individual workA scene from Dekh Behen This play is one of Akvariouss biggest hitsAR During the lockdown Akvarious has been performing live on social media Recently some of those works were performed at Prithvi Theatre Do you think this synergy between physical and digital theatre has a long road aheadAK I think we were not looking in that direction until we had to Personally I have always been very open to experimentation ndash we were one of the first theatre groups to start cineplays even though most of them werenrsquot immediately successful Every idea has its time Similarly when the lockdown happened more than creating content we wanted to keep our actors occupied and keep audiences engaged during that time I think a lot of great work came out of that A lot of original pieces were created from people who hadnrsquot written before I realised that if we take that on the stage redesign it a little bit it could also work as an entertaining evening with pieces that had to do with the Covid19 situation Having said that I donrsquot know how successful online theatre has been We did quite a few of our own plays during the lockdown including lsquoTimelossrsquo and there was the film version of lsquoThe Hound of the Baskervillesrsquo that happened through Aadyam I think people at least wanted to understand that there is this alternative space that can be explored ndash everything has its pros and cons but it is a possibility Initially we would have considered it a peripheral possibility but now it is a real thing So people are taking noticeAR In one of your interviews you said Naseeruddin Shah gifted you a book lsquoTowards a Poor Theatrersquo and it was a life lesson for you WhyAK The second play lsquoThey Shoot Horses Donrsquot Theyrsquo that I directed under Akvarious I ended up getting very ambitious We were adapting a novel and a film for the stage And I donrsquot think at that time we had the maturity or skill to do it in the right manner As it happened Naseeruddin Shah or Naseer uncle as we know him came for the show It was a terrible show and we were almost booed off stage But he watched right till the end and he said ldquoCome and see merdquo He gave me that book and it was a life lesson because it made me realise that you need to walk before you run You have to get your basics right and then you can build stuff Gimmicks arenrsquot going to work till the play is strongAR You are an actor director and writer Do these roles influence each other when you are juggling them togetherAK When I do act I land up submitting to the director because it is that personrsquos vision I try and purely be an actor and not let my directorial mind take over I think being an actor probably helped in direction because I understand what actors go through I understand that there are ways to achieve something and therefore my approach may be a bit more practical The writerdirector overlaps for sure The good thing for me is that I like being all these things ndash itrsquos not about getting used to just one I enjoy directing the most I donrsquot think it complicates anythingAR In the past few years you have worked for films OTT platforms and of course the stage Which medium makes you the most comfortableAK Theatre is my happy place It could be because I have been doing it for 20 years I have been in the film industry since 2003 I think theatre is the place where Irsquom most comfortable and happy because it is a zone with actors in which yoursquore creating something Also it gives you an immediate response The commitment to a film or an OTT show is so long that even once you finish between shooting and its release so much work has to be done that gratification takes longer In theatre there is always an instant result But what I love the most is actually working with actors to tell a story ndash and that is the same across mediums That involvement and interaction is a constant only the setting and budgets change and the stakes are higher But getting to tell stories is what makes me the happiestAR You have adapted many literary works for the stage Who is your favourite author and what are you reading currentlyAK It is very hard to say who my favourite author is Irsquom currently reading a book by one of my favourite authors ndash Nick Hornbyrsquos lsquoState of the Unionrsquo It is his only book which I hadnrsquot read I am a big fan of his works among other writersAkarsh Khurana adapted Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner for stage He cast his father Akash Khurana in pic in a pivotal roleAR How did you navigate the lockdownAK When the lockdown happened I was about to get into the shooting of a film The first month of the lockdown was very disorienting for me The next few months I kept myself occupied by going back to my writing and there was no other distraction I focussed on some unfinished projects I also got to spend time on the script of my upcoming film lsquoRashmi Rocketrsquo Then before we knew it the world had adapted to the lockdown and working remotely The postproduction of lsquoMismatchedrsquo also happened through the lockdown So I was working on editing sound and dubbing It eventually turned out to be a pretty busy lockdown for meAR What were your original plans to celebrate two decades of AkvariousAK We had a weeklong festival at Prithvi Theatre when we turned 15 And I was quite certain I want to do something bigger for the 20th We were talking to Prithvi and NCPA and also had plans to perform at a couple of other cities ndash it was supposed to be a largescale celebration In the beginning of 2020 I even brought in another producer to help me But then the lockdown happened and she took over Akvarious Live We were very fortunate that in the last week of November Prithvi reopened So while we did not get the week we had planned and all the events we had planned we did a few shows ndash getting to perform after the lockdown was a celebration in itself We were meant to open the sequel to lsquoDekh Behenrsquo but all those plans went for a tossAR The performing arts were one of the worst affected sectors during the pandemic How do you think theatre can bounce backAK We are under the threat of something which is quite dangerous We need to see how successful the vaccinations will be At this point all I can say is that it is critical for performers to keep in touch with their art in whatever way they can so that there is some sort of continuity to it It is a very tough time but little things are happening in the right direction and there is glimmer of hope I donrsquot know what the lsquonormalrsquo is anymore but I think we need explore the unexplored opportunities that come our way Hopefully we will be back in full force soon Akvariouss play What Planet Are You On tackles the issue of ADD Attention deficit disorderAR What about openair performance venues Are they an option in MumbaiAK There is a lot of talk about that as an option I have performed in openair theatres in Ahmedabad and venues in Kerala There is an amphitheatre space in NCPA which has had performances but right now they are taking strict precautions Even the Prithvi Festival at one point was presented in an openair format at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse It is doable There are venues but it isnrsquot popular perhaps because of the weather and the lack of logistics We used to perform a lot at Horniman Circle and I even performed in a garden during the Bandra Festival I think we have all done it but there is no regular outdoor venueAR Whatrsquos the road ahead for AkvariousAK We are at an interesting cusp There has been a pretty big pause in terms of new productions There were a lot of plans ndash we were doing a collaboration with the NCPA we were doing a new play for Aadyam but those are on hold right now We are still running existing productions But a little bit of normalcy needs to return all of us are itching to create something new Right now we are keeping ourselves busy with other work but we have shows coming up in the second week of April at Prithvi Theatre There are lot of projects in the pipeline we just donrsquot know which one will take off first