[00:00:00] On today's episode, we have two gentlemen who took their roots in theatre and became pioneers in their own fields. Having them here is quite a risk for me because they know me much too
[00:00:14] well and it is quite likely that they will turn the tables on me. Mantra, Sarang, welcome to the show. Sarang and Mantra, welcome to this episode of Unscripted with Akarsh Khurana. Everything in your life is unscripted.
[00:00:32] This is my place. Where is the script of the play that we are going to start working on in the next two days? You should have asked this question two days before.
[00:00:43] But also you just told me how I went to Russia for 15 days in the middle of rehearsal so now I am taking it easy. So actually we kind of tricked you because this episode is really
[00:00:52] about that one project that you have done together with me called hijack. Only for one hour I am going to talk about hijack. But how will we tell people what it is about?
[00:01:04] It's nowhere to be seen. That's true since no one knows about it and it's only on my Google Drive, we will change the topic. Ask him if he asks. Fine then I'll go to my
[00:01:13] script today. Listen, listen, I'm serious about this. I am also very serious about this. We should just like, I have decided that I am going to be extremely serious in front of you today. I mean wearing glasses that have one round frame and one square frame
[00:01:29] so and apparently it's a shirt that once belonged to someone who died. Given the shoes. Yeah, that person hasn't died. Oh, he's just given you the shoes. No, no, it's thrifting. What does that mean? Can you explain thrifting to our audience? Buying second hand clothes.
[00:01:44] You have bought this off someone. Off someone. Like he was wearing it and you liked it. That's what you do. Did you take it off? That's what you do and that's why I was not
[00:01:54] ready for this show because at the end of the show this might be on your body. So, okay, no actually there is some serious conversation that we have so I'm getting into that right now.
[00:02:03] So one of the reasons that I call both of you besides hijack of course is and I will get to the main reason that I called both of you but before that to start off and just warm up
[00:02:13] both of you are now in Bombay but not originally from here. You're from Pune, you're from Indore and while y'all do a lot more than theatre in fact you've left theatre and right? But you manage to get him back every time, Akash. I mean underdue that mostly.
[00:02:31] Yeah, now I exclusively perform for Akash. Just for Akash. No, so actually the question that I want to just start off with and kind of warm up and mantra first and then you I mean from Indore and despite the other stuff that you've done
[00:02:46] just in short like what was your journey from your beginnings in Indore to getting on to stage? How did that happen in your life? I think it all began in Indore and from the just-of-it happens with everyone. School theatre happened and post school theatre.
[00:03:02] We had a small group in Indore which where Hindi Sahitya Kinnathoko. But Indore has a theatre, is it a buzzing kind of? Absolutely it is. We have the famous Rassik of Rangmanj and Rassik who come from far away and they'll watch it
[00:03:17] and especially you know the Bundelkhand, the Rai, the local folk theatre is very popular over there and some of the classics have been adapted in Indore in a very beautiful form
[00:03:32] and from court martial to many other places that I'd been a part of when I was in Indore and I think that's what set the base for me. So you joined the group after school?
[00:03:41] Yeah, in fact during school itself and there was this play called What? The Ghost of Cantabella? Cantabella Ghost? Cantabella Ghost. Just by our Hindi film also. Yes. Yes. Yes. So now I got a chance to play the ghost and everybody
[00:03:58] I was very excited but little did I know that they'll put up a mask on my face and somebody else was voicing for me because those days in the late 90s someone voiced for you? Yeah, can you imagine? Because of a mask
[00:04:11] all I had to do was little did they know. So from there and then to Delhi Delhi actually shaped my theatre career. So you associated with some group in Delhi? Yes, many of them actually. Majorly I worked with Sohaila Kapoor for a long time
[00:04:28] we did a lot of plays together. I remember we did a play called You Must Give Me Grandsons and the star or the lead of that play was a boy called Kunal Nayar who many years later I found out is the actor in the Big Bang Theory.
[00:04:43] Wow. And in fact we did two plays together. One for Sohaila, You Must Give Me Grandsons and then there was this infinite theatre group from London with the one we played together. The Resistible Rise of Artur Aghui
[00:04:57] and again Kunal was a part over there. Kunal is a Delhi boy. Yeah, he's a Delhi boy. And in fact in those days also he was just visiting Delhi during holidays but he didn't want to lose out on acting gigs and he wanted to refine his work
[00:05:11] so that's what he did and we did two plays together and Delhi shaped my theatre career like I said. I never got a chance to get inside NSD but got all the vibe from it and learnt from all the masters over there. And then Mumbai of course
[00:05:30] when later on Mumbai happened, Atul Kumar happened for me, Pia Behru Pia happened to me and I'm not just saying it because you are here but when AK Various happened to me I learnt a new aspect of theatre and the fact was the word play was actually prevalent
[00:05:46] and was most used when it comes to AK Various. It's a play, we play We play and it's like that and that's what it all happens. I was awkward, I was only saying up to stage. I thought everything was fine.
[00:06:00] So, all about your beginnings in Pune and how did you make your way I mean I think of course you started theatre very early there I'm assuming. No, in fact it is assumed always that if someone is from Pune
[00:06:11] they sort of have theatre as part of their life quite early in their life especially because Inter College Theatre is huge in Pune and like Amay Nipur all the actors who ever are from Pune and have been on your show
[00:06:26] I'm sure they have some roots in Inter College Theatre This is that Karandak, Khurshotam Karandak, Firodhya, Suman there are different type of Karandak so not just theatre but there are theatre reading competitions, improv competitions, there is proper theatre competitions, there is musical theatre competitions
[00:06:44] so throughout the year it keeps you busy in theatre when you are in college and with the intention of doing theatre I somehow got into BMCC which is one of the important colleges when it comes to theatre service yeah proper theatre hall and rehearsal space and what not
[00:07:03] with that intention I got in and people like me I had improved a little bit so I by mistake with my friends around I thought I should become a CA instead instead of theatre you should become a CA
[00:07:16] which is quite a normal kind of a transition for people so I started studying hard and it all happened and I failed in the maths as a CA that sounds good not good and also it was my favourite subject and I had scored like 142 in school from 150
[00:07:37] so I thought that maths is good so I was not getting a CA maths then out of frustration I was like this is not done so I can't take this much pressure in any education system like I shouldn't be doing this to myself
[00:07:50] and that's why I joined a theatre workshop with Shashank Shinde from Pune was conducting in our college for college students and I just couldn't leave that hall after that in that one year last year in that last year a lot of politics was happening in theatre circuit
[00:08:08] like in general like people every 10 years new people come that type of transition was going on in the Pune theatre circuit and so we all got lucky like whoever stepped in at that time Radhika, Apte, Nachiket, Pune, Amayabh, Nipon all of that
[00:08:23] all of us became like that generation which changed Pune theatre group circuit because Sudarshan happened you've been at Sudarshan Sudarshan Rangmanch is a very small intimate theatre for those who don't know about Pune and that was a movement in its own good
[00:08:42] like because before that there was no space for experimental theatre and anyways so we just... But Marathi experimental theatre is very... existed but it happened in larger spaces so they had to struggle for this thing like Kulkarni and Sashankshende all of them were doing good
[00:09:01] but they had to sell their tickets by writing letters they would send people from postcards to the theatre and people would come and used to happen in a school but bigger auditoriums only if the play is like an epic, like Elkonjwar play or Tendulkar play
[00:09:16] then it used to be like some audience but there was not much of new writers so similar to what happened in Chhabildas in Mumbai similar movement happened with Sudarshan and we all sort of got... as we were in last year of college and things like that
[00:09:31] we all sort of got dragged into it so I did theatre with everyone in Pune almost like I did grips theatre German style theatre for children then I did plays with Sandesh I did plays with Girish Joshi I did play with Girish Kulkarni
[00:09:46] and every possible person who was there and who was known in Marathi we tried to just go to their houses and like give us some work like art, light, etc and eventually met Mohit Thakkar and that's when I landed up in Asakthay
[00:10:01] and then theatre really got serious for me eventually it got disintegrated for various reasons economical reasons someone got some work someone went out to learn but there was like at the peak of Asakthay when we were doing Tu and Garbo and Pune and Viram those places
[00:10:18] at that time it felt like this is going to be life have you seen any of these shows that he's mentioning? I'm in awe of Asakthay and what they have done in the past I haven't missed any of the Asakthay shows
[00:10:30] in the last couple of years for sure Hongkar who recently has again Yes, I'm glad to watch it very soon shaken my core once again for me I think Mohit's one of the most strongest plays that I saw initially was Yusuf So all of this Mohit's recent work
[00:10:47] is outside Pune and Pune Mohit was completely different now it's completely different work now he works with NSD actors Zendraj, Sani actors He collaborates a lot but earlier it was just Pune and few like 10 people around that's what happened And did he try to become a CA
[00:11:11] and was miserable at it? Did you ever consider another line of work? I was never in the performance performing arts line I started off as a hotelier Yes there's a great story about that which is why your life changed as a hotelier It's a life changing experience
[00:11:30] I was actually working for a 5 star hotel in Indore at the Taj residency and I was doing everything from F&B to reception to bellboy I used to enjoy being a bellboy I used to get tips I didn't know how to take stuff But you're absolutely right
[00:11:47] because that story of me giving a wake up call to a guest You know this? That guest liking my voice and offering radio to me was a life changing experience I didn't think it would end up being what it is It's someone a wake up call
[00:12:04] and it turned out to be very interesting I was just working on a night shift like any other receptionist Even before I got into accounts by the way Laila Before I could do school's accounts I was working in a hotel and in the hotel occupancy revenue reports
[00:12:20] and I had to make reports on bed and their morning tasks were to give wake up calls Those were the days of physical wake up calls when you actually had to call somebody It was just one of those days and I gave a wake up call
[00:12:33] and said good morning sir 6.30 on the clock Hope you have a great day ahead Also, wake up morning Was it a waste? I got another wake up call He got a call back I got a call back Wake up, he won't be able to do it
[00:12:47] And that call back changed my life because that gentleman was somebody who was in Indore to do Reki on radio stations The entire Times of India team was there to start off a new radio station and that was the beginning of Radio Mirchi
[00:13:02] and they offered me a job of a morning jock and that was the first ever private FM radio station of the country So one thing I wanted to ask both of you and I know you'll have diverse experiences with this
[00:13:13] and obviously when you've kind of come into the world of performing arts and you become stage actors and all of that the natural progression then tends to be working for screen So just tell me a little bit about your relationship with cinema
[00:13:26] I know that you've also been an assistant director and all of that but what is your relationship with cinema per se What do you feel about it How much work have you like managed and One interesting thing about Marathi industry cinema theater and television comes together
[00:13:41] Everyone sort of cross paths It's not that theater industry is completely deprived of cinema or cinema has nothing to do with theater Most of the actors, directors they have done theater they still do theater and they will continue doing it They are writers who have written screens
[00:14:01] For example one of the greatest screenwriters for Marathi has been the biggest playwright also Vijay Tendulkar like a film like Samna is still held as one of the best screenplay and he also happens to be a great playwright Same thing with actors like Nana Patekar
[00:14:19] all the big names that you haven't heard Atul Kulkarni, Sonali Kulkarni everyone have come from stage and they still go back and do stage It's strangely not there in the Bollywoods It's a very strange thing In fact it's there in the West
[00:14:33] A lot of screenplays are written by They don't mind hitting the stage In fact even when they get at a stage where they are like icons at that point it's very prestigious to go back and do one play It's still like that Still someone like Nana Patekar
[00:14:51] will go and attend Tendulkar festival and perform his famous sort of monologue from one of his plays because it's very important So he does all of that So it always had been mixed For me also like after I did my first three plays
[00:15:11] only I got my first film as an actor First two films were as an actor I have nine unreleased films so not many people know which films are those but then I started assisting Paraly because I always loved camera
[00:15:28] and I thought that's a great way of doing this Theater in fact both of them were going quite hand in hand till in fact I started my business It's the business that has taken me off theater and not the business side Which I'm going to come to
[00:15:45] But have you enjoyed acting for the screen and is that something you actively looked for? No I used to actively look for it What happened is like I feel as an art form two they are completely different for an actor On stage you are the most busy person
[00:16:04] in the play while the play is going on if you are acting in it While on screen you are the least busy person Most of the time is waiting period and I hate that I am an impatient person have a lot of anxiety So waiting in vanity is...
[00:16:20] And you've seen me on set Like I used to be on set always I hardly used to go back to the makeup room We didn't have vanities I said makeup room I immediately started It was like the voice comment room Yeah voice comment room
[00:16:35] There was a Tashwas going on Ludo voodoo was going on But I hardly used to go back Because I feel like On stage once you are on stage it's your field and you are continuously Even if you have a small part you have to be attentive
[00:16:49] and you are always there But on screen you just wait and it's directors medium So I prefer directing on screen and acting on stage What about your journey as an actor? Do you enjoy acting for the screen? But you've been very selective I've been...
[00:17:06] Because for me my career began with television when it comes to screen work Apart from TV You did a lot of work for TV? Well a lot of TV TV happened first and then cinema came to me Like you were doing soaps and stuff?
[00:17:17] No I was doing fun stuff actually I was a VJ on Channel V I used to anchor a lot of shows back then I used to host a lot of reality shows But television acting was something that I was never interested in Right
[00:17:34] Not in the television fiction space The television soaps is something I could never find myself interested in I went on sets I was selected for a couple of shows but I never went through with them because for some reason it never clicked that I have to give 25 days
[00:17:52] and shoot two episodes in a day But the stage and screen combination happened for me in Comedy Circus That was a long stint for me around 5-6 years and that gave me a lot of recognition But what about... You've also done films Cinema happened
[00:18:11] What was the first film? The first film was A film called Tum Mille with Imran Hashmi and Suha Ali Khan with the floods Konal Deshbukh Reha You got electrocuted and died Yes I did But you enjoy shooting acting in films though Yes, I... Cinema is mother
[00:18:27] Theater is father and Radio is my mother Shukha This is real This is promo No but the question is why don't you do more of that? Why? Because you are not producing and directing more films You cast us in Hiza you didn't cast us in Karma So actually
[00:18:46] one other commonality that I felt and this is also my pitch when I was talking to the people at Adyam about wanting to get both of you together is that besides whatever else is common Both of you in my mind at least
[00:18:58] I think that people will agree with me while having this kind of conventional actors work that have been in the performing arts have been pioneers in a field where you've actually gone into fairly uncharted territory for our country I am of course referring to BhaDiPap
[00:19:20] and M&M Talkies and you they are risky propositions you all were basically going into uncharted waters it was you going into like Marathi content in that manner accessible for the youth I don't think it existed before that No and I don't think the podcast
[00:19:36] and the audio fiction world existed before that So just talk to me a little bit about how you found the courage to do that what was the mindset what sparked this idea of because now you all are actually industry leaders in those fields and I mean
[00:19:51] you've left all the other things where I hang behind but now you have I haven't left any of that behind I in fact wanted to reach to a stage with this particular business proposition that becomes quite easy to work with So recently
[00:20:08] like on 6th and 7th of October in fact I am sort of putting up a play for the first time in Marathi Oh yeah you told me about this Yeah about Thaudi Milfantise Yes, yes So what happened was that one theatre was sort of getting stagnant for me
[00:20:25] not in Mumbai Mumbai I hardly did it for 2-3 years but in Pune I just felt like it's the same set of audience and same set of people that I am reaching to So if my stories are not reaching beyond a point then should I just
[00:20:39] try to expand my horizon One was that then films was as I said like I wasn't enjoying it as an actor So there was an urge to make films to tell stories in my own way and all the things that I had a folder
[00:20:53] I have just recently shared this story with someone I had a folder called Target 2012 Okay before I moved to Mumbai I moved to Mumbai in 13-14 with your play and that that folder for 6 years nothing was happening 5-6 years So I was like why is nothing happening
[00:21:11] So we started going out and telling the stories narrating it to different television people film people what not Same stories that are being made on OTTs now in Marathi space and no one was picking it up and then we were like
[00:21:23] why is there no digital awareness in Marathi Why is there no OTT awareness in Marathi So Paula and I and Anusha we started looking into it If there is any platform where we can sell our stories that's it we never wanted to start a business
[00:21:36] So we just wanted a platform who will buy our stories or if there is any YouTube channel like TVF doing something because TVF AIB were big by then By the time we started TVF had already released permanent roommates So we were like if everywhere it's happening
[00:21:52] why not in Marathi So we started looking and apart from couple of interview shows there was nothing in Marathi online and we were shocked because in Paula's head it was like Canadian population is 33 million and Canada has the biggest YouTube industry in the world So all the top
[00:22:10] most YouTubers come from Canada and they are 33 million people and Marathi speaking population at that point was 75 million which has gone to 90 million now Marathi speakers around the world and we were like if we have three times the audience even if we don't reach out anywhere beyond Marathi
[00:22:29] our aspirations are to make it accessible to the entire world not stick to Marathi though it's in Marathi but if not then why are we like why not we build something and try to tap into this audience start Marathi stand up comedy now bring hip hopers
[00:22:48] like everyone started thinking that we will do this first and so the talent sort of started coming and landing at our office and saying that audience audience was like nobody is doing this you have to do it so it started most of stand up comedy
[00:23:04] has happened like that Aditya Desai who is the world's C so he came and said like bro we do stand up comedy in Marathi so that happened then hip hopers came shared a video of them recently this cratex name is m house music
[00:23:20] it's like he is a dj m house Marathi house music yeah and he is going nuts like you should listen to him it's fantastic so he shared it now it's become like his part of our community so now we are planning Marathi house music parties and all that
[00:23:41] so it's just becoming that the world has become like that because there were a lot of people who wanted this kind of voice and no one was doing it and then you all wow Marathi house music man yeah I will make you listen to it after this
[00:23:55] what about you Mandra how did you decide that I know of course that see you had all the tools you had a radio career you were an actor you were a story teller you made short films all of that how did you decide that this is something
[00:24:07] I am going to was it inspired by the west what was the how did you I think I got all the three passions of my life together which is cinema, theater and radio that's how audio fiction became because it's audio cinema it's audio plays
[00:24:22] I was missing being on radio this was I think I don't know why did you stop because I got too busy to do regular radio Monday to Saturday Rose Radio Station I tried till 2013-14 and I had some great bosses who let me do that
[00:24:38] in fact during lagegi days also we used to only shoot on Saturday Sunday because Abba Roshan Abbas he supported me he said that no son you go Monday to Friday Radio on Saturday Sunday we should shoot with us this was which radio channel
[00:24:51] this is Red FM in Mumbai in Mumbai but at one point of time I just couldn't because I was shooting back to back I was doing a lot of television work film work and stuff like that so from radio there was a natural progression
[00:25:02] that I had to move forward but because I was missing radio and I love theater and I love cinema and I've grown up listening to audio plays the old school the old school variety of plays means all India radio used to do an audio drama Hava Mahal
[00:25:18] Hava Mahal yes Papa Bhutthelas all the this generation wouldn't know about it or even the previous generation of us wouldn't know about it it is before that this generation I know but this generation don't know but I had cassettes we grew up in the cassette yes so cassettes
[00:25:38] which we used to listen to audio dramas of Hava Mahal the cassettes of dialogues of films that is correct I remember that I remember that of Sholay we had one too so can you imagine before I saw Sholay I heard Sholay heard so in my mind
[00:25:54] Jai and Veeru had their own image so when I saw Bachchan and Dharam Ji play Jai and Veeru I was a bit surprised and shocked I said these two are because I had imagined someone else and that's the same thing I carried on when I went ahead
[00:26:10] and started M&M Talkies I had to make an audio cinema so question for both of you I'm assuming even you were not sure it would work as in Paula had a definite plan of recovery like we were sure about economically we would balance it
[00:26:27] now you are both massive M&M is massive Vahadeepa is massive massive I think it's a movement everybody is aware of it you yourself said it's a movement describe the moment when you realized you arrived in this it was actually and you also yeah there is one very
[00:26:51] sweet moment which for me has become memorable and will always stay like that and one happened after casting around 4-5 episodes I started getting messages from leading actresses Sai, Tamankar Priya, Baput who were big names at that point in my life wanting to come on the show
[00:27:12] they said why aren't you inviting us and at that time I had done three shows one with Radhika one song I had done with Mithila that Maharaj Shadesha then one with this Amesh crew of his television show and one with Shriya Pezaukar all the people that we know
[00:27:30] that's it and fortunately Radhika had become a star by then and she was the only industry friend that I had else I was not associated with Marathi film industry mainstream people also I told you with the indie I was with the indie art house cinema so
[00:27:45] for me it was shocking that Sai one day in facebook request messages I saw like two three actresses have a message and that was one point where I was Shaili fantasy such a Amanipun fantasy it was for casting not for me so I was like that's great
[00:28:03] like this so that was the first sign of it but I think my most heartfelt moment was like my niece was in 7th standard no or 8th standard and I had gone to pick her up in school because by then I was known a little
[00:28:18] for this one Marathi sketch show that we did which became quite iconic it's still the most iconic show that we have made and in that I played a character called Babu who never bathes so like it's a very always popular like I went to the school
[00:28:34] because she wanted that like you know kaka is here and what not so I went and suddenly all the kids started sort of gathering around and I was like taking pictures and what not she said like one coolest thing has happened so I said
[00:28:49] so she had gone from 6th standard to 7th or 7th to 8th whatever had happened and the earlier batch on their what do you call it on their bench they had carved with that compass thing like they had written on it hashtag shastrasthate which was our tagline
[00:29:06] so they had carved it on that and she said like I felt so proud that school kids have done this in the school not even knowing so that's when I thought like okay that's being part of pop culture so let's celebrate we're celebrating what about you
[00:29:24] similarly to Laliya I mean there was there was a time when I was making audio plays so you started with Bhaskar Bose no we I started off with a show called Mine and Yours which I had put out on YouTube and stuff like that which later on
[00:29:39] got remade by Audible the first one was Kali Avaze and you who are a part of Kali Avaze episode 2 you and Dilu both have acted in it I was speaking to my friends that come be a part of audio dramas you love me enough
[00:29:54] and you said that yes I will go ahead and do it but most of the actors they had no idea about it and everybody was like what do you mean what's the meaning I said no no no audio play audio drama where will it go
[00:30:08] I said on the audio portal what do you mean what do you want to do acting how about audio it was tough to convince actors to do this thing we had created those 10 episodes of Kali Avaze it was as you know a horror show when that 10 drama
[00:30:23] was completed and I presented it to Audible that's when they turned around and said that this is too good this is one of the finest productions we've heard this deserves an anchor a sutradhar a sort of a celebrity anchor which can come on top
[00:30:39] or tail of this drama can come from whom and there were a lot of names floating in the air that we went to him I thought I'll take the celebrities point of view what did I think what will I think what will I think
[00:30:51] who will go to Sutradhar till one day when I got a call from Audible and they said print the script in Dev Nagari for narration in evening and I said which actor in Dev Nagari mostly we read Roman Hindi and the address came from Juhu from Bachchan's office
[00:31:11] and that's when I knew that this movement when Bachchan Sahab like a artist he's an inspiration for all of us so the other actors will look up to him and I had it in me that I need to go and make sure
[00:31:29] that Bachchan Sahab is convinced about it and he was very very passionate he's very passionate about audio as we all know and he's always wanted to be a part of an audio show and he had never done a horror horror sort of a thing and when Bachchan Sahab
[00:31:42] heard this script he realized what it is he became a part of Kaliya Vazhe so my directorial debut had Mr. Amitabh Bachchan as his he arrived as soon as he arrived he arrived as soon as he arrived and since then after that it is still date
[00:31:56] like Saring said every day actors of all category now getting touch saying that boss we want to do audio plays so quickly how do you decide what stories you want to tell because now you've got to kind of you've clicked and you have to keep clicking
[00:32:15] so what do you keep in mind when you're choosing your stories because both of you are now storytellers on a daily basis so how do you choose like the next project so I mean how do you top a Bhaskar Bose how do you top a
[00:32:29] like a B. E. Rojga how do you top what do you look for it has been little more tougher now that we are 70 years into it because first of all we like he is into a business which is more of a storytellers business
[00:32:45] and there are multiple platforms giving sort of a distribution offer to it for us every platform new platform that comes in change the game completely like suddenly with the reels coming in and the shortest format coming in people are making 90 second short films which is ridiculous
[00:33:03] like I don't know like how to deal with it at this age so there are things which sort of throw you off completely but when it comes to what we want to represent or what we try to do is that we on one hand
[00:33:17] try to retain our audience and give them what they like to watch but on the other hand also expand our audience and tell stories of people who haven't been represented in a way Bhaskar happened that way Bhaskar was sort of a calculated move
[00:33:34] but came from a very original place like we because during stand up events we realized that our stand up is limited to Pune, Mumbai so we did something called Kaibhulta which was a program that we did before covid where we went to like the smallest pockets
[00:33:52] of marginalized communities in Maharashtra like we went to a red light area in Sangli we went to Chandrapur, Naksal area and things like that and we performed stand up comedy in there like at a chalk, at a par in a brothel and things like that and sort of
[00:34:08] promoted them to use stand up as a medium of resistance instead of just tweeting about it fighting being angsty just use humor and so we did something called Kaibhulta out of which 16 comics came and then they so during that journey we realized there are so many stories
[00:34:26] in these villages that never will see and like and Bhadipa supporting it so we and I met a girl over there called whose name was Piyu and that's inspired B. Rosgast's size character who was the fourth daughter in the family and the father was extremely upset
[00:34:46] that there is another daughter and he used to hate her so that sort of was the germ but she was the breadwinner also so can't even like really have a yeah so that's what inspired and that's how we found our stories while expanding our horizon
[00:35:02] I feel like what's happening particularly in content like we are consuming so much content on OTT I think actually the more local and regional you're going the more global it has gone honestly because at the end everything has become same right like today
[00:35:19] like I went to US for the first time first stand up only Marathi stand up and I didn't feel that I am in US like it felt like the cities have seen these people have seen the entire world is because of internet entire world is becoming
[00:35:34] like known to each other so even like when I am showing something like B. Rosgast my friends who are non-Indians and have seen it because of an Indian friend they also are like yeah we know this side of like India like we know that this happens in India
[00:35:52] they are quite exposed to it so it's very much more palatable for them so one is while expanding the audience the story we find and this other one is like where we have to continue catering to our original audience too because internet audiences that
[00:36:09] they subscribe to you because they like you in a certain way they follow personalities and things like that so then we have a show like a sketch show called Kandepohi which is always Pune versus something so that our Pune audience stays intact and they are watching the same
[00:36:24] style of comedy and things like that so you have to keep on balancing between what about you Muntur how do you decide the audience decides is that a fact? yeah absolutely so of course the research goes into it I'm glad that these people who I work with
[00:36:41] Audible, Spotify they all do their research so the research tells them what people like we get our community responses from our listeners but we also have a responsibility upon ourselves to go ahead and create something that we think that they will like apart from
[00:36:59] I would love to see the IPs that we've created Bhaskar Bose then not only on a podcast from Bhaskar Bose on stage or Bhaskar Bose on cinema that kind of expansion but as far as audio is that something you're planning? something that I wish for
[00:37:13] something that I think should happen also but the future also belongs to a lot of education based podcasts and docu-fiction documentary based podcasts and the kind of shows that are coming out may you hear Mission Isro which Spotify created with Harsha Bhogle talking about it
[00:37:29] we are working on a a fabulous audio piece called Dakshinga Ghotri which is based on India's first Antarctic mission in 1983 so the docu feature zone where people get to know and educate themselves not just entertain themselves is something that the digital audio
[00:37:50] will be looking forward to in the future and that's what is happening exactly on YouTube also like YouTube has because Facebook sorry Instagram Reels have become the form of entertainment lot of information channels are doing the best on YouTube right now why do you think there is though?
[00:38:08] because if you don't read things in your school books you'll have to get to know them from somewhere else nice but you think that I mean of course every kind of new media needs some sort of you know push to develop you think that right now
[00:38:30] with the opportunities that you are coming your way it's getting caught in a little bit of trying to chase celebrities to kind of make it more saleable that is so true that is so true but unfortunately because I think that's something you've managed to stay away from
[00:38:42] on OTT it's still the same on BhaDiPa on BhaDiPa yes we have launching new talent right? in that sense you started with a lot of new talent Oh Babadata even right now Eminem talkies takes a lot of pride in launching 95% of unknown actors
[00:39:02] nobody who you would not have heard in the OTT space or in the film cinema space 90% of my cast is from theater and of course you need to have those celebrities to sell your show it's a different medium altogether so voice actors it's a
[00:39:22] and I will tell you some names where you will say Ragesh's voice, Samay Thakkar, Sanket Matre you wouldn't you would say these are masters of the dubbing dubbing industry all the south to Hindi movie dubbs all the english to Hindi movie these people are like the
[00:39:42] Shahrukh Salman's of our industry so loads and loads of respect towards them okay we are going to move now into what is supposed to be like a rapid fire but it's not rapid because I'm a slow kind of guy I call it slow burn
[00:39:58] but there are shorter answers basically because there are shorter questions but I'm going to kind of okay I'm going to start with one and then I'm going to bring it back a little bit to theater so that we can kind of end with theater
[00:40:10] you both have to answer no no you have to do both it means that one person will get more time and the other person will get less time okay okay actually one way easy because and also we've established during this
[00:40:24] and there are things that I've even left out but both of you not literally where many hats I mean there are multiple things you do you act, you direct, you produce you are now doing stand up and among a lot of other things that you must be doing
[00:40:38] Christmas parties you throw which I don't get called for but there's that for obvious reasons you are a bandra hipster so you wear many hats and you as well you act and you also be in the voice of artists whatever
[00:40:54] now you're a business owner technically both of you are you are a producer which job role do you identify with most direction, screen direction I would like to and that's like an ultimate ambition if I have to choose one and I have to let go everything
[00:41:12] then screen direction is something I would like to pursue and you? voice work is something for me also will remain as a voice artist as a voice artist anything to do with audio and voice production we can continue to be actors till whenever we want I mean
[00:41:32] I am getting a lot of attention and for me it's a love for the camera neither of you care about theatre I told you I will keep on continuing theatre but theatre for me I don't know if I can ask you any theatre question
[00:41:46] no no no no no no no please ask me theatre question quickly asking you first you spend some time doing Delhi theatre what is the one significant difference between Delhi theatre and Bombay theatre you spend a lot of money in the back actually the theatre people
[00:42:06] come to you and ask you I have to earn less they think you ask for pass so you ask for our money they spend money there but honestly Mumbai theatre circuit has been a different ball game for me but in Delhi what I really enjoyed was
[00:42:26] the true rasek, the true connoisseurs they really value you they value you they will back you for a longer period of time and you don't get that feeling from a Bombay audience but no of course Mumbai also has been exposed to different kinds of theatre
[00:42:44] Mumbai has Marathi theatre, Gujarati theatre Parasi theatre, Hindi theatre rangrezi theatre it's got so much exposure to Mumbai so Mumbai looks at the colour of the colour and Delhi looks at it differently not as audience, as theatre process
[00:42:58] what's the difference that you would have seen in Mumbai and Delhi process wise I think it's pretty much similar it depends upon the directors and the groups that we work with but because Delhi has a lot of these schools and a lot of masters
[00:43:12] who have come out of you throw a stone at a Mandy house and it will fall on an NSD actors maybe so you enjoy that a lot you enjoy spending time with a lot of masters and Pune theatre and Mumbai theatre sincerity I think it's far more
[00:43:30] like, tiringly sincere I won't say good or bad about it right, I don't know but it has to be extremely sincere I remember in college days if you come late for rehearsal you go around the ground that kind of sincerity discipline and sincerity it's a lot
[00:43:52] of time that is invested in making a play it's like 3-4 months you have to give for rehearsal quick question for both of you on stage which has been your most fulfilling performance in Marathi it has been this play called Charse Koti Visarabhavit which I have seen
[00:44:12] and I played Ashwath Thama in it that was a wonderful play that actually is really blew my mind so I played the rap slim sherry song and not again because you are here but after I moved to Mumbai Baghdad wedding has been my favourite and why? because
[00:44:36] both places I never thought I would get casted for this role that was the calm it actually threw a challenge at me I have a certain personality and I always get casted on screen I am always the young guy who left his house in search of truth
[00:44:58] in search of himself in hijack on stage I am always a little bit a little bit crazy a little bit sad not a normal person but Baghdad wedding it was a really sincere quiet guy a little bit of a thai rava
[00:45:22] which I never had got casted for before you casted me in it and for Charse Koti Visarabhavit it is a very verbal play I am very much comfortable with my body but when it comes to language I fumble a little the way I speak
[00:45:42] it was an extremely verbose play I wanted to explore with my body as well as words so that was lot of fun what about you? I think for me my performance as a genie in disney allotted will always stay back with me of course it is our own
[00:46:02] Broadway style musical and the show the grand show at the ncpa you were there for this little show apart from the joy of being the genie the joy of singing all those songs that Robin Williams sang Alan Menken's music
[00:46:20] to be able to dance and sing at the same time literally your dream come true when it comes to the Broadway style musical but more than that it is the happiness that it gave to people it was so so endearing I still remember that zero show
[00:46:36] we finished the show and that final bow happened and we were still a little skeptic about how people would take a Hindi speaking genie in an English play and everybody loved it it was all good but I still remember when I got out of the green room
[00:46:54] and I came to the fire and you were there and everybody was there the final scene of Titanic when the gate opens and everybody is just looking at him looking at her and just clapping and welcoming him I still remember it was so
[00:47:12] it was so heavy on me that I came out I'm meeting you, I'm meeting all my friends I'm walking around suddenly someone is pulling my hand and they are saying hi one picture and just turning around Abhishek Bachchan or people are there and like genie
[00:47:26] and all that it was not just that after a few seconds it got to me and I still remember I just said I gotta go back to the green room I gotta go back I left something and nobody knows this but I went back and I broke down
[00:47:40] I just had never felt the kind of love, the kind of appreciation ever in my life so that moment pushed me to keep on performing every day for that show which took a toll on you it was almost like a sport
[00:47:58] you were playing a 3R game of football it's not a 90 minute game you were on, you were on lifestyle, I stopped smoking I had started working out in a different regime all together because I knew it's not just going there and delivering lines the actor is an athlete
[00:48:16] in that sense and I think so yeah Disney Aladdin would always be very special for me I should end the episode on this I had one more question so I'll ask it they can relate it please can go ahead I broke down
[00:48:32] I was like what was the story and in between they came and behind me there's a high-tire aspect so last question of this is that as an audience an Indian production on stage that you were not a part of that blew you away Indian production
[00:48:52] you will say that I am a Lion King in London you saw it I was not saying that it's an Indian production I'll take it I'll take it and why Sagar Deshmukh for one who just as far as a performer is concerned what is Shahita about
[00:49:16] what is Shahita about it's about that favorite child the favorite child there's a part of the Quran about I think it's a story when you went to give your son's sacrifice on the mountain and that child turned into a a goat and the child starts to sacrifice
[00:49:38] from there I think it's the way the performers held it it was written in a certain way and the silence is scared to you we always kind of things and I am a man of words I create audio dramas I don't know about words
[00:49:58] but I believe words are always a hindrance and it is the silences between the words is where the audience gets sucked in and Shahita just sucks you in and Sagar Deshmukh what he's done in that play will always remain with me for the rest of my life
[00:50:18] for me it's actually there was a wave of clowning plays that happened in Mumbai and I feel so bad about it because if there's one thing that I know that I can do better in life is using my body and I used to do yeah buddy that look
[00:50:38] sure buddy not clowning around he will come I using my body for my own pleasure and performances not for others yeah so I always thought I should have got into clowning and I still don't know why I never did a workshop or anything
[00:50:58] but when especially when I seen C4 Clown and that was the first one and Hamlet these are the two plays when I watched them I was like I wish I was part of this wow that was yeah so thank you thank you for keeping a distance
[00:51:18] such a civil conversation never happened this is the first civil conversation we have ever had Sarang if tell us if there would be no cameras in this room what would have been happening I wouldn't be sitting in this room hey guys what's up my name is Mantra
[00:51:36] and I am Sarang and we had a fantastic time on Adhyam podcast with unscripted with Aakarsh Khurana talking about careers talking about our plays theater journey and a lot more on Spotify, Apple Podcasts Binge Pods or whatever you listen to your podcasts
[00:51:54] and don't forget to subscribe to Adhyam on Instagram, on YouTube and everywhere else where you find Adhyam do watch this episode