Shekhar Suman and Deepti Naval will present the 75th show of a play about the love between Sahir Ludhianvi and Amrita Pritam
Shekhar Suman and Deepti Naval
Veteran actors Shekhar Suman and Deepti Naval will take the stage on Saturday to perform the 75th show of Ek Mulaqaat, a play that depicts the unfulfilled love of poets Sahir Ludhianvi and Amrita Pritam. Sharing what kept him going, Suman says, "The moment I got on the stage, I would think that I am in front of a live audience and I won't get a retake. Also, the joy and responsibility of playing someone like Sahir Ludhianvi kept me motivated." Naval enjoyed the fact that she could experiment with her character in every show. "Theatre gives you the freedom to change small things here and there with every show. We get that freedom on stage. In cinema, we don't. That motivates me."
Suman feels he could get into the skin of his character because of his similarities with Ludhianvi. "I grew up on Sahir. I am reticent like him. I have an inclination towards
nazms and shayari, like him," says the actor. The actors claim that Ek Mulaqaat is different. "It's different because of the way it has been written, crafted and designed. Also, we kept the essence of the play intact. A lot of Amrita Pritam's poetry is in Punjabi. Also, there is a lot of Urdu and the audience puts in a lot of effort to understand Ludhianvi's words," says Suman.
Shekhar Suman and Deepti Naval
He praises Naval for making him comfortable and for the camaraderie they share on and off the stage. For Naval, working with Suman was a learning experience. "I have learnt how to learn your lines and make them your own from him. He is so adept at delivery and voice throw. I don't play theatrically; I play cinematically. Shekhar plays Sahir more theatrically."
While most of the shows got standing ovations, Suman says the 74th edition stood out. "We performed at the Pyarey Lal Bhawan in Delhi on February 17. The audience clapped and cheered for us right from the start. They would appreciate every nazm and sher. After the play ended, many of them walked up to us and said that they cried at the end," says Suman. But for Naval, an accidental encounter is most memorable. "We were performing in Gujarat and the light fell where Shekhar was standing until a couple of second ago. I was supposed to be at that spot in two seconds. It startled us. We stopped in the middle of the show and I started picking up the broken glasses. The prospect of getting knocked out on the stage was shocking."
Asked which actors would suit the characters if a film is made on Ludhianvi and Pritam's love, Naval says, "If it's about the last year of their lives, then Shekhar and I are the best people to play the parts."
On March 17, 7.30 pm
At Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi
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