Good food, good people, good vibes.

Actor, writer, overall nice guy Siddharth Kumar talks about his journey in theatre, with Akvarious and his favourite moments along the way.

Do you remember the first play you were a part of? Care to share what, with whom, when, etc?

My first play was The Shadow Box directed by Nadir Khan in 2002. Nadir, who had recently graduated from Xavier’s at the time, returned to direct the play for the English Literature Festival - Ithaka. We went on to make it to Thespo where I would meet several collaborators and friends for life including Akarsh.

The team after an early show of The Interview, written by Siddharth, which went on to perform 100 + shows around the country, a first for him and for Akvarious. L to R: Prerna Chawla, Akarsh Khurana, Kashin Shetty, Siddharth Kumar, Karan Pandit and Tariq Vasudeva

What did you study? Was theatre and/or arts anywhere on the horizon for you?

I eventually went on to study Commercial Art at the JJ School of Arts. However, I was the only student in my batch to not have a showing at the Final Year Exhibition because I was busy doing two plays for Thespo that same year. That seemed to set the tone for things to come. I very sparingly do art/design work these days. I write for a living, including for the theatre and I’m pretty active on the theatre stage.

You used to do a ton of drawing, cartooning, sketching, etc. Where did that go?

You’ve stumbled on a very existential question for me. Where did it all go? I still occasionally storyboard for feature films though the last one was Rashmi Rocket (2021). I genuinely need to get back to it, but between trying to earn a living as a writer, spending time with my wife and theatre, finding time can be tricky.

Are there other hobbies or talents that find themselves relegated to the back seat?

Thankfully no. If anything, I should be better at guitar. I get many opportunities to play on stage, so I find myself with a guitar in my hand fairly often. Sadly, I haven’t advanced beyond the same level of basic chord playing that I was at 15 years ago.

I only ask because you're also a writer, a musician, an actor. How easy or hard is it to contain these multitudes? Does the writer brain nudge you in particular directions while sussing out a script or a character? Or vice versa?

It’s easy, in that, aside from acting and writing I’ve sadly neglected my other skills. Or barely put them to use. Till my mid 20s, I saw myself primarily as an illustrator. So unsurprisingly, I write like I draw - Scenes, stories and characters are always like rough doodles at first. And then I’ll detail and refine, but not systematically. It’s not uncommon for me to have an early draft with mostly gibberish but two very refined scenes somewhere in the middle. And then I’ll detail out from there.

Now on to your journey with Akvarious. Can you share a snapshot of how long it's been, roughly how many plays and how many tours and cities and stuff?

"One of the most memorable trips as a company was when we travelled to Mussourie and Landour and performed our Ruskin Bond play - a Special Bond for the man himself and eight hundred other children. Akarsh would go on to write, produce and direct a trilogy of such plays and we frequently quote lines and recall characters to this day."

Oh, man. 22 years? At least 20 plays in at least 15 cities. Plus a show in Muscat. I’m definitely lowballing it. One of the things I’m most grateful for on this theatre journey is how much of the country I’ve had the chance to see on our travels. Definitely how much of this country’s amazing cuisines I’ve gotten to indulge in. That’s a non negotiable with Akvarious- Every trip is good food, good people, good vibes.

What is it that keeps you coming back to them? Did you ever think they'd see 25 years as an organisation?

Oh, I definitely saw them make it to 25 years, largely because of Akarsh. He’s a self described ‘fool for theatre’. His greatest currency is goodwill and once people work with him, they’re usually keen to return for more. It has also been a family driven enterprise, with a tradition of theatre, so there’s a strong foundation there. Really, the only way Akvarious shuts down, is to find a force powerful enough to get Akarsh to stop and good luck finding that!

What is Akarsh like as a director? Elaborate a little?

"One of my favourite moments of theatre intimacy with Akarsh. Back when my beard needed to be artificially greyed. We were opening Faith Healer by Brian Friel at the Prithvi Festival (2014) a beautiful and haunting piece that Akash Khurana had wanted to do for a while. I was very grateful to have been a part of it."

For actors, Akarsh allows a lot of freedom but demands a lot in return. He’s not one for hand holding unless absolutely necessary. He will give notes. He’ll talk character and motivation, but it’s always a guide, never instruction. He wants the actor to find and discover and he runs his rehearsal rooms to allow for that. He’d much rather share what music he has planned for a scene and let you play off that, instead of outright telling you what mood he wants from the scene. So, definitely a lot of agency and a lot of collaborative discussions instead of one way dictats. And when he does lay down the law and bark ultimatums, it’s extremely rare and very late in the process.

Specifically to do with What Planet Are You On... How different is this from any other play? What are the reactions of parents/teachers/kids when they see this play?

It hits home for a lot of children and parents in a way most other plays don’t. Especially in a day and age where there’s fierce debate over medicating children for ADHD and whether it’s even a real condition, I thought Akarsh approached the subject the right way. The protagonist Homi does use medication but the play isn’t about that… it’s about his personal struggles and how his relationships are affected. The reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve had children and adults alike open up to us about their ADD diagnoses. We’ve had parents admit to completely rethinking how they approach their child’s idiosyncrasies and behaviors. So it’s been especially rewarding.

And is there a sense of responsibility you carry while portraying the role of a child who is 'different'? Did you do any research or talk to relevant experts or people who have lived the life of a person with ADHD, in order to better understand this character and equip yourself?

"What Planet Are You On? Holds a very special place in my heart in particular. Akarsh’s script tackled the subject of mental health in children sensitively and with a lot of heart. It’s also one of my favourite casts to work with we’ve had the most rewarding interactions with audiences. We’ve spoken to Mental Health professionals who love the play. Children who suffer from ADHD have opened up to us about their struggles, as have their parents. Akarsh joked we’d shut the show after 40 shows or when I turn 40 (whichever comes first). We’ve crossed those show numbers and I turn 41 next week, and yet the show (and somehow, my back) is still good to go."

So I have borderline ADHD. I tried mild medication briefly in my 20s but got a second opinion that suggested against it. It’s a trait that’s pretty evident and I think it’s partly why Akarsh cast me. Now I can’t say it has gotten in the way of my life as much as others with more severe cases, but performing the play can be very cathartic - and I recall all the times parents and teachers would scold me for shaking my leg, for example. So in this particular case, I drew primarily from personal experience.

You're generally regarded as an incredibly kind, good-natured - if absent-minded - chap. Where do you think this comes from? Theatre circumstances can be volatile and sometimes get heated. Have you ever succumbed to pressure? Snapped or buckled?

I’ve thankfully had very positive theatre experiences for the most part. In general, I find the tribe of theatre people to be warm, passionate and generous people. The most stressed I’ve been was maybe the opening of The Verdict for the Prithvi Festival 2022. It was my first lead in an adult play and right up to the tech rehearsal, I was screwing up lines, botching costume changes and forgetting props. The much more seasoned Zafar Karachiwala was due to play the same role eventually, so I told myself if I could just get through the opening shows without tripping over myself and humiliating Akarsh and the 13 member cast at the Festival, then Zafar could take over and salvage the production. Maybe 7-8 shows down the road, I might even get a pity crack at the part again. Thankfully, it played out a fair bit better than I feared.

"F Word is probably my favourite play to perform. It’s Akarsh’s best written work in my opinion and I know it comes from a deeply personal place. Making it even more personal is that his father is in the play too and delivers a tremendous performance. My role required me to emotionally reach places I never had to before, but playing off Akash sir’s performance meant I didn’t have to work very hard to get there."

As an actor, what's the dream role you want to fall into your lap?

No particular part per se. I would like to do a two hander. Two such productions have eluded me (code for: I didn’t get the part) - WILDTRACK and LUNGS both produced by Q Theatre Productions. Just the process of building that level of intimacy, that level of detail in a relationship, that amount of trust with a co actor, is something I would very much like to tackle someday.

And as a writer, what's the one story you wish you had told? Play or film or book, whichever...

I wouldn’t say I wish I had told the same story because every writer gives their own identity to a piece. But I would say I wish I had the underlying idea for something like Severence. Futuristic dystopian stories are a dime a dozen these days, but people dividing themselves into a ruling and a labour class… that’s especially chilling with an infinite number of exciting narrative possibilities. The core idea of Sona Spa by Makarand Deshpande is another one in a similar vein.

And finally, what do you wish for Akvarious, for the next 25 years?

More of the same, really. They’ve done a decent job reinventing themselves over the years. The last two years in particular, the company has pivoted to working with the next generation of aspiring theatrewallahs which has been especially heartening. Akarsh’s motto has always been ‘better the devil you know than the devil you don’t’ but he seems to have discarded that more and more over the years. Obviously, I wish Akvarious better opportunities with new producers, curators and venues (especially internationally), but if it ain’t broke…

UPCOMING SHOWS

What Planet Are You On?

May 17 and 18 | 12 noon

Rangshila Theatre, Andheri

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About the weekend: Akvarious are celebrating 25 years of theatre. And while the anniversary is in December, we're doing loads of things all year long. One of the ambitious ideas is microfests, which are basically venue takeovers, where we do a whole of theatre and theatre related stuff and create a very packed weekend. The second one is this weekend at Bombay's newest auditorium - Rangshila Theatre. We're doing some theatre games, workshops, free events and discounted student passes as well. Swing by!