'I enjoy being directed'

Manjula Negi / TNN / May 5, 2007, 00:25 IST

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Ram Gopal Bajaj - one of the most respected directors in Indian theatre - talks to KT on why he still loves playing the actor...

Ram Gopal Bajaj - one of the most respected directors in Indian theatre - talks to KT on why he still loves playing the actor...
He's a director who has his roots in acting and actually "enjoys being directed." Meet Padmashri Prof. Ram Gopal Bajaj, former director National School of Drama, who was in the state capital recently to stage a production of Dharamvir Bharti's famed play Andha Yug with the students of Bhartendu Natya Akademi
Apart from having directed premier and complex productions like Rameshwar Prem's Ajaat Ghar, Surendra Verma's Surya Ki Pehli Kiran Se Surya Ki Antim Kiran Tak and Qaid-e-Hayat, Badal Sircar's Ant Nahin, Maxim Gorky's Lower Depths, Mohan Rakesh's Ashadh Ka Ek Din and Vijay Tendulkar's Khamosh!Adalat Jari Hai, Prof Bajaj has also tested his acting skills in Shekhar Kapur's Masoom, Ramesh Sharma's New Delhi Times, Ketan Mehta's Mirch Masala, Yash Chopra's Chandni and Deepa Mehta's Fire and more recently co-starred with Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika in Parzania. Here he talks to KT about fellow actors, and on being directed...
On actors who have or not contributed to acting

Shabana Azmi is a former parliamentarian and doing lots of work at the grass-root level but what is she doing for her own field? How is acting benefiting from her work? How is the institution or the discipline or the new actor benefiting? Shabana is where she is because of her acting. People know her because of that. She and Javed (Akhtar) may be taking Kaifi aur Main around the world but how is it giving back anything to theatre? For that matter all these artists who are into politics now, like Raj Babbar or even Jaya Bachchan – how have they given back to the field, which has given them so much? As a family, if you see, perhaps Shashi Kapoor and Sanjna have done considerable work through Prithvi theatre. So has Naseeruddin Shah, who gives back to the field by way of his Motley Theatre where he does plays regularly and also conducts workshops in NSD.

On working with 'superior star-actors' like Jackie Chan, Amitabh Bachchan and Naseeruddin Shah
I find these people achievers. They are superior star-actors. And it's a great experience working with them. I remember when working on The Myth with Chan, there was a sword-fighting scene where I was attempting to learn sword-fighting and while I was trying to get it right, Chan walked up and showed me how to do it right. He had no airs about being Jackie Chan. He did it without showing off his stardom. Or even when I was working with Amitabh Bachchan in Main Azaad Hoon. I was nervous because he was a big star. But he was very polite and co-operative during the shooting and not once did I feel awkward. Even Naseeruddin Shah, for that matter, it is the attitude that makes him stand out.
On theatre being left out as a discipline
When the country went from being a monarchy to a republic, theatre as a discipline was left out. Nobody thought of defining what place theatre would have in the scheme of things. There is negligible representation in Parliament to people from the field. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha combined are a 795 strong strength and only one seat is reserved for people from this field. So what kind of an impact does one expect? Even in education there is place for dance and music but none for theatre.
On why acting is better than direction
I enjoy being directed. I started out as an actor. I suspend myself as an actor when being directed. If there are questions or suggestions, that's okay because that is part of an actor's discipline but at the end of the day, I leave it to the director to decide. He is the one who has the vision, who knows which direction he wants to take the film or play.
manjula.negi@timesgroup.com

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