Sucheta Dasgupta

Kathmandu:

Time. 6 pm. Date. 1 July, 2005. Place. On the kerb outside The Himalayan Times. The late afternoon drizzle had just turned into a softly pouring rain as we debated whether to ride a motorcycle or catch a cab to Soaltee Crowne Plaza, the capital’s premier hotel that housed Naseeruddin Shah, the unparalleled Indian film and theatre artiste (Naseer, the Nonpareil, I thought to myself, unable to resist the alliterative turn of phrase even in mind buzz, unredeemed and unredeemable hack that I am), and was venue to a presentation of ‘Dear Liar,’ Jerome Kilty’s play written in 1957 on GBS’ epistolary relationship and friendship with actress Stella Pat Campbell, who remained his friend until her death in 1939 and was chronologically the third woman in his life. The leading parts were to be enacted by Ratna Pathak Shah, actor and wife of Mr Shah and the Man Himself. “We catch a cab as we don’t risk getting unfashionably wet,” said my photo editor and professional senior and I agreed, wryly appreciating his acumen for the occasion, and off we were full speed to what was going to be a memorable event in my none-too-long life.

Off the record, I must confess that I was acutely aware of two handicaps at that point: (a) Having begun writing and working as a journalist armed with a degree in electrical engineering, I was not onto Page Three as much as the occasion might have asked for: eventhough I had considerable intellectual appreciation of the subject, I was distinctly uncomfortable in parties (especially where I hardly knew anybody) and in “social situations,” and, (b) My lack of considerable (and, therefore, adequate) theatre watching experience and theoretical background in film studies and formal film appreciation hurt my conscience. I was a non-formal film buff and an action movie junkie till late teenage, however, but I had practically begun my life regularly watching Aby Baby Action Movies (of the Great Amitabh Bachchan) at age three-and-a-half! And here was Naseer the Nonpareil of the serious/parallel/arthouse/New Indian Movie genres. For the record, I reached Soaltee at exactly 35 minutes past six o’ clock. Time. 6.37 pm. Date. 1 July, 2005. Place. Meghamallar Hall, Soaltee. For the record, the play, ‘Dear Liar,’ was being organised by Asman to raise funds for Gurukul (4466956), a unique theatre school and resource centre in Baneshwor, Kathmandu, that runs a full time two-year residential course covering dramatic literature, acting, music, creative writing, direction and theatre art. Gurukul also organises theatre workshops, festivals and training for community.

Asman (Association of St Mary’s Alumnae Nepal, 5536119) is a non-government, non-profit body devoted to the cause of aiding and supporting poor women, children and individuals for the past 15 years, also working in the sectors of health, education, development and cultural awareness. With this programme, Asman was supporting Gurukul School of Theatre. The programme was sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, cosponsored by BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation, Asian Paints, Hyundai, supported by Royal Stag, Samsung, Photo Concern and Soaltee Crowne Plaza and Kantipur and the Kathmandu Post were the media partners. Tickets had been priced at Rs 3,000. A must mention is the fact that at the end of the play, Naseeruddin Shah, who handed over the cheque to Asman, said, “It has been a pleasure to come here and perform for the aid of this cause.” ‘Dear Liar’ has been directed by Satyadev Dubay and produced by Jairaj Patil who also arranged the sound effects. Michael Nazareth was responsible for lights, Sandhya Vakil Gandhi the backstage grind and the sets were designed by Mihir Thaker. For the record, the performance was riveting. The two players switched roles, clothes, personae and accents effortlessly and it was especially strangely enjoyable and heartwarming to hear comfortably and accurately rolled out American (when Stella goes to Hollywood in the 1930’s), Cockney (Pygmalion), British English and sundry accents, dialects and diction from the tongues of two Gen A Indian English speakers in Gen Y Nepal. Naseer looked both dapper and suave in his top coat and tails as the writer-intellectual in his prime (in Act I) and convincing as a fading, geriatric GBS (in Act II) later in the play even as Ratnaji was always the perfect English rose as Stella, slowly losing, but never allowing hardship to exploit till the end, her grace. Stella Campbell is The Woman That Got Away.

But this is not just the story of Stella Campbell. This is the story of the mind and the muse (Stella influenced the genesis of George Bernard Shaw’s ‘St Joan’) that chronicles their deep mutual admiration and love (despite both of them being married, and not to each other!), a lovestory, but a wry, dry, relentlessly argued and relentlessly witty one, that had the audience holding their sides (though I failed to appreciate that odd titter when GBS tells Stella about his mother’s demise in his typically droll figures of speech). This is also a historical, biographical, sociological work that chronicles that very significant era in history (1895-1939) that was witness not only to numerous pathbreaking accomplishments in British theatre but also to two World Wars, the beginning of the Hollywood and and the end of the Edwardian era. But at the end of it all, this is a story about old love, bickering, aging (both together and alone), death and about missing a dear friend. Off the record, I thought Ratna Shah had a slight edge over Shah in terms of powerful stage presence between the duo, not that I am qualified to comment on the matter.

Time. 8.30 pm. Date. 1 July, 2005. Place. Rose Garden

The play is done but unredeemed hack that I am, I must collect quotes and a moment with Hero Hiralal. So off I walk to meet Society on the lovely gardens of Soaltee, fishing for an audience response. I chitchat with Sneh Rana, Mohan Shrestha, Prabha Thacker and the delightful Mrs Sapna Tamrakar of Asman. I meet a lonely society wife genuinely overwhelmed with the performance and content of the play. I feel grateful to her for her authentic if exuberant praise. (Later I am to obtain the last word on audience response from Ratna Pathak Shah who says it was “warm and wonderful.”) I meet a friend on the lawns who, rightfully, expresses her indignation: “Hey, why didn’t you look me up? I know you’re here, so and so said and I’ve been looking all over the place!” I catch hold of myself before blurting that I’ve just been trying to look up Naseer and I can’t look up two people at one time; she’s a dear friend. And so on and so forth until I spot Naseer at a table and, metaphorically, walk into him.

Time. 9 pm. Date 1, July, 2005. Place. Meghamallar.

I ask the last question first. “Sir, what is your message to the youth and the cognoscenti in Nepal?”

Naseer smiles. Then he puts on his ‘prophet voice,’ much against my insistence, smiling an you-asked-for-it: “To the youth, I must say follow your heart. Follow the bidding of your heart

and do what you want to do… no matter how impractical they may seem to be. To the cognoscenti? Make More Plays. “I am off to Mumbai after this,” he shares, subsequently. “I’m making a film. It’s my first directorial venture… not too many ‘known faces’ in the cast…”

“What if you were to make a movie in Nepal about Nepal, what would its subject be?” (I bite my tongue as I finish the question… I stopped him from saying the subject of his real film.)

“It would be a lovestory,” he says, “because the nature and the cityscape is so perfect for one… maybe something set in 1920s or 30s in Nepal… but I am a non-political person. At the same time, lovestories are least popular with me as a genre… I am not a lovestory person, you know… though I am a film junkie, my favourite type of film is adventure.

“Do you watch English films more than Hindi?” I ask, trying to be wise in a middle class manner. “I watch all kinds of films, you know, English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil…

“Subtitled?”

“Yes, subtitled…”

“And what of the 80’s ‘Art Film?’”

He giggles easily as he finishes: “All except the 80’s arthouse genre… I never watch those movies.”

“But you reinvented yourself, too, didn’t you? Hero Hiralal was a turning point. How was the experience of Hero Hiralal?”

“Well, it was good, generally and initially. I enjoyed the first part of the shooting of the film. But I had a difference of opinion with the director about his wife. Ketan was so fixated on making an actress out of Deepa.” A horde of 18-year-olds make an entry at this point and get their autograph books signed. Naseer exchanges a mock significant look with me before turning to oblige. I look on politely, wondering at the fact of his celebrity value and its import. A decade ago, I’d have gladly joined this crowd. Tonight I’m taking my first international level celebrity interview. The hosts arrive and we take our leave, half euphoric, half mindful as to not miss out on any of the quotes. As I walk past the dinner tables, I wonder if I mustn’t, too, report on the food. It is one of the beats in our paper. “Sorry, Soaltee, next time around!” I find myself sing out into the night as I step on the car park and then onto the road. I got all I wanted: page three confidence and his hand on my head as I bid Naseeruddin Shah goodnight.

Naseeruddin Shah

Mr Shah is a graduate of the Aligarh Muslim University in English literature and has received his Diploma in Theatre Arts from the National School of Drama and his Diploma in Film Acting from the Film & TV Institute of India. he has acted in over 141 Indian and foreign feature films as well as plays including those by Beckett, Camus, Shaw and Shakespeare. Mr Shah has received four Filmfare Best Actor awards as well as two National Awards. He has been honoured with the Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan by his national government in 1987 and 2003.

Ratna Pathak Shah

Mrs Shah is a graduate of Bombay University in sociology and political science and has received her Diploma in Theatre Arts from the National School of Drama and his Diploma in Film Acting from the Film & TV Institute of India. Mrs Shah has acted in several films and teleserials and is involved in both costume designing and direction of plays by the Motley Theatre Company and other theatrical productions. Mrs Shah is an accomplished theatre actor of considerable reknown having performed in over 30 plays in both the Hindi and English languages.