The cast of Makarand Deshpande’s Pitaji Please — starring Swanand Kirkire, Zahan Kapoor, Aakanksha Gade, Madhuri Gawli and Snehal Malgundkar — had just finished doing a runthrough of the play at a rehearsal hall in one of Andheri’s bylanes, when Sanjana Kapoor dropped in. In the midst of everyone catching up with her, Mak, as he’s fondly called, proceeded to tell her how the play came to be. “Quite a long time ago, I had given the first half of the play to Zahan (Prithvi Theatre trustee Kunal Kapoor’s son) to read and forgot about it. Much later, I met Swanand and expressed my desire to work with him someday. Then I happened to bump into Zahan at Prithvi one day and asked him what he’s up to, to which he said he’s reading the play I gave him. That triggered an idea, and I told him to get in touch with Swanand, adding the rest of the cast later. That’s how the play happened, because of Zahan,” he said, pointing at the latest Kapoor scion to join the acting bandwagon.
Rewind to some of the plays that Mak has written and directed, and you will find a strong sense of human relationships peeking through. “That’s because I find that to understand any crisis in the world, you need to see it through a human perspective. My subject this time has to do with fear. Where do these fears stem from? And when this fear finds its way inside an educated family, how do they deal with it? For a Maharashtrian father to find an Allah ka locket in his son’s bag — what are the fears that creep into his mind? I felt that the only way one deals with this situation is to face the fear. That can only happen through goodness,” he said, pointing out to the philosophy behind the play.
As for what appealed to Swanand about the play, the National award-winning lyricist guffawed, “Makarand Deshpande appeals to me the most. But what also appealed to me here is this one man’s journey, which is so relatable.” The actor admits that while he has seen a lot of other works on similar subjects, the way Mak has tackled it offers a fresh perspective.
“Some works blame politicians, others the situation. But this is the first play I have seen on the subject, which is an honest introspection — where you go within to see where all these fears are lurking and poking at you,” he adds.
While the thought may be serious, the treatment isn’t. Humour could well be the director’s middle name, as he constantly keeps finding ways to make the situation lighter. “Humour eases you, on stage as well as in life,” the playwright philosophised. “And I’m not such a serious man myself, so I feel I can’t do such a serious play. Yes, the gravity of the thought has to be maintained, but the humour keeps coming,” he added.
We have barely managed to ask Zahan about his experience of working with Mak, when the director butts in, “I’m sure he wants to say I’m a mad man!” to which the young actor quickly repartees, “Yes, Mak sir is completely mad... but in the most beautiful and fantastic way.” Zahan, who’s involvement with theatre began in 2012 when he created promo videos for the shows to be staged at its theatre festival, admits that while he’s known the curly-haired director for many years, it’s been a learning experience to work with him in the capacity of an actor. “I have spent quite a few years, slowly trying to find inspiration and guidance. Mak sir has always been a constant figure. Yeh lehar hain, humein toh bas inke saath behna hai,” he added with a sideways smile, as his ‘sir’ guffawed loudly. Clearly, the humour flows through in life as well.
Pitaji Please today and tomorrow at Prithvi Theatre, 9 pm