India needs more playwrights, says Naseeruddin Shah

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah's theatre group 'Motley' is synonymous with quality-oriented creative performances on the stage.

The group is back in action with a three-week festival in Mumbai aiming to delight the theatre aficionados.

The festival began on March 10 with Shah acting and directing the play 'Ismat Apa Ke Naam' in the Hindustani language. The play deals with issues of women and the behaviour of a male-dominated society towards them.

"I thought of having a conversation with the audience. I found resonances of my own family in the characters she writes about and the issues about women that she raises are very pertinent," Shah says when asked as to why he chose Ismat Khanum Chughtai's stories.

The actor points out that though storytelling via theatre might not change the society's attitude towards women but art has the ability to raise pertinent questions.

The actor emphasizes on fine balance between actors' performances and content of the play to create great performances.

"One aspect of the performance on stage, mustn't suffer at the cost of the other," he feels.

The veteran performer's simple advice to actors is 'learn your lines well and do not bump into the furniture', which forms the simplest dictum coming from an institution-of-acting himself.

For Shah, playwrights like Satyadev Dubey, Ebrahim Alkazi and Atul Pethe will always remain an inspiration. He hopes that India gives birth to more playwrights, who are capable of creating rich and an inspiring work.

Recently, Shah essayed the role of late scientist Einstein.

Interestingly, Canadian-playwright Gabriel Emanuel, who has written this play, was also present for the show.

Impressed with the actor's performance, Emanuel says Shah was faithful to both the text and to Einstein himself.

"This was indeed a rare and magnificent performance by a superb actor. Without a doubt, this Motley production of Einstein has my genuine seal of approval," he adds.

Motley and Shah have toured Pakistan with their work, regarding this cultural exchange.

"The Pakistani audiences are starved of theatre. Music, poetry, literature are flourishing there but not cinema and theatre," Shah says and adds that there is a great hunger amongst the youth for exposure to new things in Pakistan.

The actor feels that art can play a major role in bridging ties between the warring neighbours.

"Art is not competitive. It can work as a better ambassador than sports and can go a long way in diplomatic dialogues," feels Shah.