Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw's grandson Jehan wants to give theatre in India a professional makeover. He tells Manish Gaekwad why members at his theatre workshop have quit plum posts to train 9 hours a day
Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw's grandson Jehan wants to give theatre in India a professional makeover. He tells Manish Gaekwad why members at his theatre workshop have quit plum posts to train 9 hours a day
When Om Puri recalled his struggling days at the recently held Filmfare Awards function, as a "scrawny, long-haired, funny-looking fellow" who dared to dream, it was tough not to draw a parallel to Jehan Manekshaw's predicament. Thirty five year-old Jehan's struggle has left him, and become a collective dream. "It's important for the message to go across that this isn't about me, how this cannot be achieved without the support of common people, patrons and the government," he says about his company, Theatre Professionals Pvt. Ltd. (TTPL), that aims to train actors and organise world-class productions in India.
Theatre goes professional
"Theatre in India is musibat; there is no money in it, rehearsal hours are odd, promotion and awareness is low.
What my company wants to achieve through a five-year plan, is to give theatre a professional makeover."
"Five year plan sounds sarkari," I interrupt. "Exactly," Jehan retorts, "Even TPPL sounds drab." He is adamant about the issue being more important than the name, unlike a Lee Strasberg acting diploma, which he would like us to know, will not land you a plum role. The fate of an actor still depends on luck by chance, he says, making a not-so-subtle reference to the recent Zoya Akhtar film.
Salary for the soul
However, that should not stall any actor from keeping in touch with training. The first batch of 48 students who have enrolled for his workshop scheduled this May at the National Center for Performing Arts in Mumbai, come from every walk of life. "Some are tired of the rat race and want to make an income for the soul," they've quit fancy posts to be part of his Intensive Drama Program.
The intensive program is a two-week workshop where actors learn, perform and prepare for 9 hours a day, for 12 days non-stop. "This helps them imbibe a sense of rigour, a discipline that's integral to the performing arts, and which they cannot afford to lose touch with," says the man who is currently a professor at Mumbai's St Xavier's College to third year English Literature students.
Grassroot gurus for urban actors
Jehan is assembling some of the best teachers from across India, teachers who have started with "grassroot theatre", people who can train his first batch of "urban actors" in different forms of acting, using styles from a regional and traditional vault of theatrics. Most of these, Jehan admits, he wasn't aware of till he travelled abroad for his Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Directing from Birbeck College, University of London, in 2005.
"Yes, ironically, you have to be alienated to see how strong your roots are." Now he's back in India. And with Mumbai being the heart of Bollywood, he wants to infuse all the discipline he has trained in, into the film industry. "Bollywood is where everyone wants to go; that should not stop actors from honing their craft.
Theatre is a craving that no actor worth his salt and stature, can resist."
Jehan promises to bring forth his troupe around from the workshop with a "masaledaar, mazedaar, melodrama" very soon. For someone who started his journey in theatre playing Peter Pan on stage, we hope he dazzles us.
