For Saurabh Shukla theatre is like first crush

It took him 18 years to come back to theater — but he is here and how. Ashwin Gidwani’s Two to Tango, Three to Jive will see Saurabh Shukla not just in the lead role but also as the director.
The play is a comic take about a restaurateur trying to deal with his mid-life crisis, and in his desperation, attempts to get into illegitimate relationships with three women.The story seems very similar to Neil Simon’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers and we ask Saurabh if his play is an adaptation. He quips, “No, the play is not an adaptation. It has changed a lot and it is completely different. Actually it is a new play.”
I always craved for theater
Saurabh started theatre in Delhi, with the National School of Drama and came to Mumbai when Shekhar Kapoor called him for a project. Once here, he became involved in movies and it became, “my bread and butter”. He goes on to admit, “Theatre needs time, that I did not have then but I had a huge craving for it.” He believes that the most amazing thing about theatre is that it has a direct connection with the audience that is incomparable and heady almost.
Kept in touch
Though he was too involved with movies, Saurabh made it a point to keep in touch with his theatre roots. “Not many people know, but, I helped a lot of my theatre friends. I translated a play for Anahita Oberoi.” And after 18 years, “I realised that I couldn’t stay away from the stage any longer. Now was the time when I could really afford to get on stage once more,” he states.
This was like coming back home
The stage, for Saurabh, has always been like home, “It is like meeting your first crush after a very long time.” He believes theatre is something one can never really give up and explains, “It is similar to learning how to swim and cycle, it just stays with you forever.”
The play will be staged on Sunday, August 19, at 7 pm in the Tata Theatre, NCPA.