A perfect ‘trap’ for theatre-crazy Kolkata

KOLKATA: Actor-directors Aamir Raza Husain and Virat have carved a niche for themselves in the world of theatre, their productions so far attracting three Presidents, a dozen chief ministers, a bevy of top Bollywood stars including Amitabh Bachchan, captains of industry and a host of other celebrities. However, talking to them, it doesn’t take long to realize that theirs will never be that ‘obvious’ progression to the more ‘rewarding’ world of films.Blame it on the addiction.
“Cinema is attractive financially, and offers are round the corner, but the enjoyment of having a guy in front of you and getting a reaction instantaneously is like a drug. I can live without everything but not without theatre,” says 57-year-old Aamir Raza.
“I get to remember images, not just from our productions but from those of others too; films never do that sort of thing to me,” gushes Virat. “I’m certain it has to do with that live communication,” she explains, before stressing on how crucial that ‘connect’ with the audience is. “It’s what makes or breaks a play.”
Famous for their innovative presentation on huge outdoor sets — one production actually incorporating a ‘mobile auditorium’ — the couple is in the city with Agatha Christie’s murder mystery ‘Mousetrap’, to be staged on the ITC Sonar lawns on Thursday and Friday as part of the Group’s WelcomTheatre initiative, which has seen the staging of landmark productions like ‘1947 Live’, ‘The Legend of Ram’, ‘The Fifty-Day War’ (on Kargil), ‘Sare Jahan Se Achha’ and ‘Mehernama’.
“It’s been 30 years since I started working with ITC’s WelcomTheatre,” recalls Aamir. “I was at the ITC Maurya for the first 10 years. It was unheard of in those days that an institution, leave alone a 5-star hotel, would be promoting theatre in this fashion. Operating out of a 5-star hotel has always had its benefits. And we have always been encouraged to think big,” added Aamir, pointing out that he has been coming to the city with these plays ever since ITC Sonar started operations 12 years ago.
Both Aamir and Virat are excited by the fact that it has helped them take theatre to where “awareness had been very low”. “We tried to change the skyline of theatre in places like Delhi, at least English theatre, with a kind of theatre that people hadn’t seen before,” points out Aamir while Virat reeling off names of other cities.
“Kochi, Shillong, Bhubaneswar and even Kashmir,” she adds, as the two recount with a smile how chief minister Omar Abdulla ‘gatecrashed’ one of their shows.
‘Mousetrap’ has almost always had discussions veering towards its ‘longevity’ in London, where the play has been running since 1952.
“That’s 63 years. Of course, the audience is not Londoners but Americans and other tourists. It’s one of the things you do when you go there,” says Aamir, but quickly reminds: “There are so many legends linked with it like Sir Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim, who went on to become husband and wife, acting in the first show.”
“It’s a classy play, that also captures the essence of that period so subtly. It’s a big play and that’s why we love doing it,” she adds.