'I want to do plays that sock you in the gut': Naseeruddin Shah

Circa 1978. Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani sat in a small coffee shop in Lucknow and decided to make plays that aroused their curiosity. On July 29, 1979, they opened their first play, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot at the newly-inaugurated Prithvi Theatre in Juhu, although they didn’t have a name in mind for their group yet. Forty years and 42 productions hence, Motley continues to stage plays that resonate with them. They are now staging some of their most popular ones, including Manto Ismat Haazir Hain, Aurat Aurat Aurat, Dear Liar and Ismat Apa Ke Naam among others, and also doing a couple of readings at the Motleyana Festival to celebrate the milestone. We caught up with Naseer to tell us more…

The line in the 40 years celebration logo, ‘In Godot We Trust’, is quite apt for Motley. Who came up with it?

I did! It’s actually a meme that’s going around. Initially, there was something about the 40-year celebrations but I wanted this motto because if it hadn’t been for Godot, Motley wouldn’t have existed. We owe Godot a great deal. We performed it for so many years. We will be reading portions from it for one of the shows and introducing all the actors who were in it — those who are still alive and around. Some who are not in India will be sending video messages. The people who played the boy are now all grown up, like Akarsh Khurana, Imaad (Shah, his son) and others. We will talk about the fun we had doing the play. I believe people should attempt drama they don’t necessarily understand. The process occurs only when you tackle the script.

Can you rewind to the early days of performing it?

There was no Motley name when we first performed it! Om (Puri) had a theatre group called Majma for which I had done several plays. We didn’t have a banner, so he said, ‘Do it for Majma’.

It wasn’t a particularly tough time. Ben chose Godot because he thought it would be a practical play to do, not because of its greatness. He said it’s just four men and we needed a child actor. He knew cinematographer Ishan Arya had a 10-year-old son called Sameer, so, we went ahead with it. The play was so difficult to comprehend and we didn’t know what the hell we were doing!  Gradually, the references to Chaplin, circus, religion and all began to strike us. So, we tried to convey those as best as we could. I think it cost us around Rs 3000. We had to get one suit made, while the rest of us were in rags. We just produced our old clothes for that. 

The actor with Ratna Pathak Shah in Dear Liar

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We didn’t expect it to make money but we did it because we wanted to do it and found more and more meaning to it. Then it began to get us revenue with full houses in Prithvi Theatre and other venues. And that’s how Motley established itself. I don’t remember it as being a very traumatic time. Tom (Alter) had a very large apartment in Juhu and we would often rehearse at his or Ben’s place. Sometimes, while working with Om, we have rehearsed on local trains, buses, at Juhu Beach, wherever we could find space. Looking back, even then it was great fun as we were doing what we loved.

Can you tell us about the influence theatre doyens Ebrahim Alkazi and Satyadev Dubey had on your works?

I spent my childhood in places like Ajmer, Aligarh, Meerut and Nainital. I studied at Aligarh University, where I met some inspiring teachers who introduced me to modern literature and encouraged my dreams. The plays we did there were shabby productions. There were hardly any resources or money. Then a teacher of mine took me to National School of Drama in Delhi and I was dazzled by the plays I saw! I didn’t know theatre like this happened in India but Alkazi was doing it. They were spectacular productions staged at the Red Fort and Talkatora Stadium, with a cast of 50-60 people. Every detail, right from the rings and shoes they wore, was looked after. That is what I have absorbed from him.

Then I saw Dubey’s plays. He often did works that Alkazi had done, but with no budgets at all. I consider his production of Hayavadana as one of the most memorable things I’ve seen on stage. There were Amrish Puri, Amol Palekar, Priya Tendulkar and Kalpana Lajmi among others. It was a spectacular play with nothing on stage but the actors. He and Alkazi detested each other and I can understand why now (laughs). I’ve learnt from both equally but I follow Dubey’s path. I want to do what he did — to reach out to an intimate audience, do plays that sock you in the gut, not ones which dazzle you. There are so many rudiments of staging I picked up from them. Alkazi was a genius at crowd scenes, while Dubey was great at handling actors and creating moments of dynamism on stage. The value of the word is what I learnt from Dubey most.

Akash Khurana and Benjamin Gilani in Waiting for Godot

You rely a lot on the spoken word…

I love the spoken word. I believe it is the most important thing on stage. I admire well-spoken languages, whichever they may be. I’m not dismissing physical theatre. I admire it but unfortunately, I’m incapable of doing it. So, I stick to what I am good at — the spoken word.

What’s the one thing that’s been a constant for Motley in these 40 years?

To do the plays that we want to do. We once tried to do a crowd-pleaser — The Odd Couple. That was at a time when comedies were popular and we wanted to make some funds. All we did was lose money because nobody came to see it (laughs). So, we want to do the plays we feel the urge to do and that’s a rule we have followed. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we failed. Doing Julius Caesar was a dream I had since school. We attempted it, we failed. I think I was a little muddled in my head as to what kind of play it should be. It was part Alkazi, part Dubey. The mix didn’t work. 

Is there a play on your wishlist?

Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw that I will certainly do at some point. It needs 15 male actors, all of whom have extremely important parts. It’s a tough task to find 15 outstanding male actors who can speak well. I’m also yet to find an actress who can play Joan. I’m gradually accumulating the cast but I want to be certain how to do the play, so I haven’t launched into it.