BENGALURU: If one were to ask artiste Arundhati Nag about the theatre space and her upcoming plans, the answer will rarely centre around a role she might play. Instead, Nag would be more excited to discuss the need for a nation wide movement to introduce theatre for children. This change, she says, has been a culmination of her efforts in building and sustaining Ranga Shankara since 2004. The space has become synonymous with the theatre scene in Bengaluru but Nag stills remembers the initial days, which she recalled at a recent discussion at Bangalore International Centre, with Ratna Pathak Shah, organised in celebration of its 15th anniversary.

Ranga Shankara was started by Nag after the demise of her husband, actor-director Shankar Nag. While raising funds was not easy, Nag was motivated to do. “After losing Shankar, this was my reason to live and gave me purpose. The whole city stood by me during my efforts and it shows in the energy of the space and the way people come to watch plays; it wouldn’t be the same if an industrialist built it or donated the space,” she said.

Nag didn’t just focus all her time and attention in building Ranga Shankara but also declined films that came her way, including Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hain. “I didn’t want to be distracted,” she added.
The idea was to make a theatre space affordable so people would use it. This was achieved by charging theatre groups and audience nominal amounts, which is `200 for a local troupe and `300 for an outstation one. The two thespians discussed how a recently staged play cost `750, which was found too expensive by many. Shah promptly stated that theatre shouldn’t have to be apologetic about charging someone money since people are willing to pay higher amounts for movies. Nag, however, responded: “Seventy per cent of our programming is Kannada plays and the audience for this includes auto drivers, waiters, etc. The economic background is different.”

During the course of the conversation, Shah recalled how a small village that was unable to get sponsors for their theatre festival managed to pull one off anyway since the folk came together and gathered funds themselves. Shah and Nag agreed that Ranga Shankara is one such theatre too, where the space itself generates this relationship with people. “I’ve seen how battered women who face abuse come here and feel safe. Or women whose mother-in-law’s don’t allow them to leave the house but are okay with them visiting the theatre; Ranga Shankara is a lifeline for people,” explained Nag.

According to Shah, it is difficult to come across new playwriters but not all hope is lost since youngsters, especially those below 35, form 70 per cent of the audience today. Agreed Nag, who added that even avenues like Netflix and Amazon were opening up to realistic acting and better production values. “Since commercial serials are so bad, theatre will only pick up and get more creative, purely out of desperation,” she said.