It's here - Opening Night!

Sentences cannot describe how I feel, so let's try a random smorgasword of words..

Excited. Nervous. Anxious. Eager. Petrified. Exhilirated. Adrenalin rush. Charged. Delirious. Energized. Giddy. Pumped. Prepped. Propped. ... good luck to cast and crew, actors and production, director and producer, lights and sound - break a leg!

Actor's Physical Transformation for a role - sort of

When the Tughlaq Makeup ladies Nitya Kansal and Jyoti Iyer asked me if I would be comfortable with getting my eyebrows reshaped into an older eyebrow style, I was quite excited. I play Tughlaq’s step-mom and we are going for a 14^th century look. This meant actually changing a portion of my physical appearance. My fellow actors have been growing/shaving/shaping their facial hair for months and I was excited at the opportunity to do something new with my appearance.

Now I must admit I know nothing about makeup and eyebrows (hence I trust my Makeup Goddesses Nitya and Jyoti). Like most Indian women, I get my eyebrows threaded every 3 – 4 weeks, but I just plop myself in the salon chair, close my eyes and let the beautician do her thing. When she’s done, I scramble to find my phone to check missed calls or texts. When she asks “Okay?” I briefly glance up from my phone, nod, say Thank You, pay up and zoom off.

This time, it was different. I showed up with these pics, asked for a particular senior beautician and waited half an hour until she was ready. I carefully explained the look that was needed, she nodded and proceeded to do her thing. After asking me to stretch my skin in various directions, she threaded, she called over her peers to get their expert opinion, more threading, she called over her mom-in-law to get an opinion from “that zamaana”, more threading, then she was done. I looked up and noticed….no difference. Huh? Where was the magical transformation? Where was the 14^th century look?

I met Nitya later that day and to my surprise, she said that I did look different. It was not exactly what she wanted but definitely less contemporary than before. She explained and re-explained using the Waheeda Rahman picture. Huh? By this point, the other (male) actors had gathered around the Waheeda Rahman picture and had started sighing longingly :)

Though my “physical transformation” was anti-climactic, I have learned that some things are left best up to the experts. If its good enough for the Tughlaq Makeup Goddess, its good enough for me. I'm sure it will be great for the audience - you can judge for yourself when you see the show!

Dhoop Kinare Pays off - Mogambo KHush hua!

Remember those Pakistani sitcoms from the 80’s/90’s? Tanhaiyan? Dhoop Kinare? Padosi? The crazy antics of Qabacha? Endearing Dr. Zoya? I remember sitting cross-legged on my parent’s living room floor in the afternoons and watching rerun episode after episode on video-tape. Not only was the story-line interesting, but the acting was great and the language – oh the language! I remember most of the Urdu went over my head. I had no idea what the words meant, but they sounded so magical and BEAUTIFUL and in context, I was able to follow the plot perfectly. It was a great tool in my procrastination toolbox, especially around the time of homework deadlines and board exams.

Finally, all those hours spent hearing the “KHaalis Urdu” in these TV serials has paid off as I rehearse the dialogues for Tughlaq. I am surprised that I can tell the difference between the “kh” in KHamosh and khilona, the “gh” in GHum and ghoda, the “K” in yaKeen and karela (last word not in Play). Hopefully, with our efforts, the audience will be able to hear the difference too. Even if every single Urdu word cannot be understood, the actors’ expressions, the context and the English Supertitles will help. And then, the audience can say “Shabash! Bahut KHoob! Wah - Kya KHaalis Urdu hai!”

I am now itching to YouTube Mr. India to see if Amrish Puri actually said "Mogambo KHush hua!"

A Naatak Newcomer’s Journey : A new reference point

When we first started practicing for Tughlaq, I was excited and enthusiastic. I was still experiencing the thrill of getting the part of Tughlaq’s Step-mom. In a narcissistic way, I think most actors enjoy this beginning part of the play process – you’ve just bagged a part, you’ve “beaten out” all the others at the auditions, the play date seems far far away, you’re meeting new people and old friends, you’re beginning to act out scenes, experiment, you’re working on your costume and makeup and anything is possible.

But two weeks from opening night, I feel different. I obsess over every scene, every line, every blocking movement, every mannerism, every projection point in the dialogue… Opening night is near, run-throughs are going on and the pressure is on. I really felt the pressure at last week’s run-through (May 26^th) and could not figure out the main trigger. Of course, the approaching show-date is an obvious one. And then it hit me – the bar is raised.

Before Naatak, my reference point were non-actors – folks who are highly skilled in a lot of different fields where they could put me to shame - but not necessarily always in the field of acting.

After Naatak, my reference point is the other actors – of course, we are one team, everybody is cooperative and helpful. But come on, comparison is only human. Its not like I want to “beat them”, I try to be like them, I yearn to be like them, I aim to be like them. And when I see how far I have to go, I realize that my acting sucks.

So what’s the positive here? Well, I am also INSPIRED to be like them, I am ENCOURAGED to be like them and am also ENABLED to be like them. They observe, they give constructive feedback, they help me improve and most importantly, they spend the time to help me out.

So now I’ve established a new reference point – myself Pre Naatak. With all the help I’ve received from the Naatak actors, I will be able to act better than Manisha – Pre Naatak and “beat her”. Now, that will feel great.

Run Through 5/23/2010 (19 days before the play)

Tughlaq and Shatranj Ke Khiladi

The movie “Shatranj Ke Khiladi” was released way before my movie-watching years and I must confess I have not watched the entire thing from beginning to end. However, bits and pieces of this movie have returned to my mind often throughout the years. I have visions of sunlight seeped royal bed chambers with music in background, hookah within convenient reach, and endless rounds of Sharbat and Avadhi Kababs being served where Saeed Jaffrey and Sanjeev Kumar play game after game of Chess and devise grand (unimplemented) schemes to combat the East India Company. I imagine Shabana Azmi and Amzad Khan eating Paan and delivering perfectly enunciated lines out of the side of their Betel lined mouths. I imagine the dialogue having several onion layers, which the audience delightfully peels off one by one to reveal one diabolical plot after another.

When I first heard of this play Tughlaq, that movie was the first thing that came to my mind. I do not know how similar the play is to the actual movie, but so far, it has several similarities to my childhood memories of the movie:

• Yes there is no Sharbat and no Avadhi Kababs involved, much to the chagrin of my palate.

• However, there is lots of Hookah, Paan (even Supaari and Nusvaar) being consumed and passed around. Yes, the substance use is all pretend. However, who doesn’t love to hear someone speaking eloquently with a Paan filled mouth?
  
• The plot is layered with several complexities which make for a tense and interesting storyline. Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq is compassionate yet cruel yet childlike and eccentric. He is an innovator and a visionary, yet a fool. His step-mom in turn is fond of him, yet scared of him. Azeez is overly slimy and greedy, yet with a conscience. Shabuddin is......I could go on and on but you get the idea and it would spoil the suspense. Pretty much every character in this play has two (some even three) sides to their personality, which the actors are trying to surface for the audience.
• Finally, and I think this is where the analogy to my version of “Shatranj Ke Khiladi” really comes through, there is no end to the diabolical Schemes and “Aha!” moments for the audience. The play provides lots of suspense, drama and double-crossing when you least expect it (the best kind of double-crossing, of course).

Play practice has definitely been fun, entertaining and inspiring. It is a great experience to be able to learn emotion, projection, modulation and of course, the all-important skill of pretending to eat Paan (hey, its tougher than you think). I look forward to the show and hope that the audience enjoys the story, suspense and idiosyncrasy of the play. Once the show is done and I have a little bit more time on my hands, I will have to put “Shatranj Ke Khiladi” on my Netflix queue and see if it matches up to what I’m sure will be a great production of Tughlaq

Video Snip-it from Shatranj Ke Khiladi