Once there was a little girl...

Vivek Madan
Jun 27
9 min read

Updated: Jun 28

"I always wanted to act. I never wanted to do anything else." Kshitee Jog, actor, powerhouse, reluctant star, gives us a glimpse on growing up in a theatre family, what it means to be a star, and recognising second chances.

Okay, so starting from the beginning. What is your first memory of theatre? Watching or doing?

Oh my God, first memory of theatre! There's a play called Shantecha Kaarta Chalu Ahe. It's a Marathi play in which my mother used to act. It has Lakshmikant Berde, Sudhir Joshi, Nayantara. And it was directed by Prakash Buddhisagar. And because my mother used to act in it, I was sitting and watching from the pit, with the sound and light guys.

I don't really know remember how old I was. Must have been first or second standard.

And I only remember one particular scene. Because Lakshmikant Berde, he was on the stage and he looked at me and he winked at me! Because he knew that I am Ujwala's daughter. So for me, it was like, oh my God, he's on stage and without even forgetting his line, he looked at me. So that's my first memory of theatre.

And what was your first ever play?

With Makarand Deshpande in Joke — With Makarand Deshpande in *Joke*

This was in Ruia College. I wanted to go to Ruia because I knew a lot of people who were working in Marathi theatre and films. I wanted to only get enough marks to get admission in Ruia to do theatre there. That was all, nothing else.

And my first play was called Thamba Thamba Mantana. It was directed by Vishal Ahire and we were supposed to do it for INT that year. But we were thrown out in the elimination round itself.

Then in the same year, Sanjay Narvekar directed another play for Mrugajal, another Marathi competition, which was called Rajyacha Putra Apradhi Dekha, a historical play about Sambhaji Maharaj. So that was my first ever acting assignment.

Were you also a child actor?

My parents were not very keen in letting me act when I was a child. I was very busy doing dance and at the most, mono-acting in inter-school competitions. That's about it.

But honestly, I never wanted to do anything else. My father used to say that he doesn't know whether I can really act. That I wanted to was a different story, but whether I would be able to or not was his question. But I always wanted to act.

And what was the culture quotient at home? Would you read a lot? Would you listen to music, watch films?

I was given a lot of Marathi old plays as text to read at home. Most of the time I didn't even understand what the play was about. I was taught Marathi poems.

There were two reasons. One, I was in an English medium school. It was important for my parents that I know Marathi culture. All the books in the house were Marathi books. There were no English books in the house at all.

And secondly, my grandmother, Shanta Jog, was an actress. So, there were all the books of plays that she had performed in that I would read over and over again.

Is there a story from those days that you remember as your favourite?

I’m very glad you asked this question. There is a play called Suryachi Pille about this Mahatma sort of a person who has these good for nothing children who are only living off their father's name.

It was one of the plays I read when I was a child. And it stuck with me. 10-15 years ago, a producer called me and said he’s doing a play, and asked if I would like to be a part of it. He hadn’t decided which play yet. So, I said yes, and I said Suryachi Pille is the play to do. It was the first play that came to mind.

I kept telling him, it’s an old play, it’s a good play, my grandmother used to act in it, Damu Kenkre directed it. And luckily, he agreed.

A still from the revival of Suryachi Pille, directed by Pratima Kulkarni — A still from the revival of *Suryachi Pille*, directed by Pratima Kulkarni

How many plays do you watch in a month?

I used to watch a lot of plays earlier, but when I became a daily soap actor to earn some extra money, that changed. Now I regret the fact that I don't watch enough plays. Whenever it's possible, I will go; but I must admit that I really watch few plays now. But I want to change that. It’s not something I'm proud of. In fact, I’m very ashamed of it.

When did this switch or this journey in TV start?

I started my professional journey in the year 2000. I had just passed my 12th. My first ever daily soap was called Damini. It used to come at 4.30 on Sahyadri, a Marathi channel.

When I used to go to college, there was a school nearby. And if the kids ever saw me around, they used to call me Divya, Divya.

And you still get recognized, no? You still have that star power.

Now on Instagram, if I put four comedy reels about something, people will recognize me on the street. That does not make me a star. A star is somebody whom people would definitely come to see, to watch in a play or a film. Just their name is enough. So, I’m not yet a star.

Can you give me an example of a star that you grew up admiring?

Oh, there were many. Mainly in Marathi for me. Prashant Damle, Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, Bhakti Barve Inamdaar, these were powerful names. If they were in a play, I would go watch it.

And currently, Mukta Barve. If I see Mukta Barve is part of a play, I would really want to go and see it. She is a star in theatre. I recently watched her play called Chaar Chaugi. The moment she entered on stage, and she was wearing normal clothes, normal saree - but the way the audience responded! I was amazed. I mean, that's what a star is.

Do you think the perception of the audience has changed towards stars? You come from a legacy family, right? Grandmother, both parents, etc. What was their life compared to yours?

My father did a Hindi show called Kuch Khoya Kuch Paya. It used to come on DD, I think. He played a villain.

One day, long ago, when I was a child, I was walking with him. He was dropping me to school. And there was a woman approaching us. Looking at him, she crossed to road to avoid him. And at that moment, I felt such mixed feelings! I was surprised, I was proud that he was being recognised, but I also wanted to tell that woman that he’s not really like that, like a villain. That she doesn’t need to be scared of him! And for my father, it was the biggest compliment.

But in today's time, I think just because you are seen in, say, four TV shows or three films, people know you and you’re familiar to everyone. And then you start feeling like a star. I think that is when you should really, really do theatre, which will get you back to your roots and probably sometimes tell you that you're not as good as you think you are.

This is a very interesting point, and I want to ask you about this. Because there is this argument about theatre being art and cinema being commercial. And in each one there is a further distinction. What are your thoughts?

I don't think there is very clear distinction. I think it's very much in our minds. Even a very, very masala film with song and dance and fights. I personally can’t do that, I’m bad at it. But if it touches something within me in some scene… It might be an actor’s performance, it might be just what the film actually wants to say. Why is that not art? To have music that people are going to remember for years, it's art. It’s important. It's so difficult to get people to watch your film again and again, to sing your songs again and again.

If that is what commercial cinema does, I think it's wonderful.

Then what is your benchmark for quality?

Like I said, it has to do something to me, the play or the book… It has to make me laugh. It has to make me introspect. It has to make me scared. It has to give me some kind of an emotion. If I am just watching people fighting with each other and it makes no sense, that’s not working.

Also, you can't just make me laugh, like a meme or a forward on WhatsApp. It has to have some meaning, be meaningful.

Now that you're a producer, is that something that’s stayed with you in terms of the projects that you make?

Oh yes. There's no compromise on that.

This also brings me to another question that I have. You’re been doing theatre since college. And now you’re a producer. One of the biggest things I find that film and OTT and cinema people do better than theatre people is talk about their work. Whether it's the poster design or the trailer or the synopsis or who is acting in it or what is the message. Do you think that's true?

Yes. Yes. Yes. It's really true. I think we don't pay as much attention to the publicity of the play as the people who make films do. When I am making a film as a producer, my publicity brain is constantly on because unless I get different people to watch it...

And I mean, theatre is doing so well and there are so many new things that are coming up. Why not really put it out there? Because every single person in the audience is very important. It's okay if the person didn't like it, at least they paid attention and therefore they didn't like it.

When did you first meet Akvarious?

My first play with them was a play called Once There Was a Way. I think it was in 2003 or 2004. Akash Khurana was directing it. Akarsh called me up one day to ask if I would be in the play. And I remembered Akarsh because he was in the first year of Thespo. I was doing Sadiya and he was doing Brothers.

And since then, how many shows have you done with Akvarious?

I don't know why Akarsh doesn't cast me in every one of his plays because I would love to be a part of his every production. It's super fun. I hope he’s reading this.

So anyway, Once There Was a Way, Rafta Rafta. And This Time is my third play with him.

So, 20 years with Akvarious! Has anything changed?

Akvarious has become big now. It's a name and produces so many different plays, which is a great thing. And they're completely different topics altogether.

When I saw Dekh Behen, I could not believe that there was a play like this happening. I laughed so much!

Nothing has changed in Akarsh per se. I don't know if he can ever change. And I don’t want him to. I love him way too much for that.

With Akarsh Khurana in Rafta Rafta — With Akarsh Khurana in *Rafta Rafta*

One thing I miss about him now, though. I miss that he doesn’t act anymore.

We were co-actors in Rafta Rafta, we were playing husband and wife. He's one of my most favourite co-actors on stage. He makes you feel so secure. Rafta Rafta was one chaotic play. 15 people on stage, everybody saying one-one line at a time. But to have somebody like Akarsh there was very soothing and very calming.

Coming back to This Time. What is the play about for you?

The leading adies of This Time - with Garima Yajnik and Mallika Singh — The leading adies of *This Time -* with Garima Yajnik and Mallika Singh

It’s mostly about lost opportunity for me. There's this one line in the play “It is all about getting together and figuring out what kind of losers we are.” It’s not a negative thing. It just means that they all, we all, had an idea of what we wanted to become, who we wanted to be, who we thought we would be. And meeting after 15-20 years really reminds you of that, and you look back and think where I am isn’t anything like

what I thought. So it’s also about second chances.

The play really took me back to my college days because I’m the only one in the cast who’s actually from the batch of 2003, the same year the characters graduated in. So I told a lot of my college friends to come watch the play, and we re-connected. It was lovely.

And I relate a lot to the love story. I was very upset with the ending of the play. I told Akarsh that as an actor on stage, I can really spoil your ending, it's in my hand. But I stayed true to the script and in my mind I convinced myself that they will meet and in my mind they have met. I have decided that they have a happily ever after.

And last question, what is your wish for AK various for the next 25 years?

Oh, please keep making lots of plays, keep casting me in them and make me happy because that makes me really happy. And I hope there are new people and it becomes bigger and nicer and brighter and we have lot more plays. And don’t forget about casting me.

UPCOMING SHOWS

Theatre-chi Gappa

Kshitee Jog and Sarang Sathaye in an intimate, mostly-Marathi conversation about their personal journeys in theatre

July 29 | 12pm

The Box Hub, Pune

This Time

June 29 | 5pm