We all know that Shekhar Suman is a powerful TV and film actor. But he has also proved his worth by proving his worth in theatre. In 2014, he starred in Ek Mulaqat. It featured him in the role of acclaimed lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi and Deepti Naval playing novelist and poet Amrita Pritam. The play, directed by Saif Hyder Hasan, touched upon their romance and got unanimous acclaim. In May, the makers came up with a reboot version. Shekhar once again played Sahir while Geetika Tyagi this time stepped in as Amrita. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama conducted a few days before the Kolkata premiere of the drama, Shekhar Suman spoke about Ek Mulaqat and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: Shekhar Suman explains he was DESTINED to play Sahir Ludhianvi in Ek Mulaqat: “No one in the industry except me could have played Sahir”; CRITICIZES section of elite audience: “Urdu toh bahut duur ki baat hai, kambakkht Hindi theek se nahin bol paate”
How has been the feedback for the reboot version of Ek Mulaqat?
Amazing. It is as exciting as the earlier version. During the 2014 version, we were apprehensive as we were stepping into a very different sort of domain like literature, nazm, etc. Deepti ji was a bit scared to be on stage. She had the usual worry of ‘What if I forget my line’. I told her, ‘Once you are there, you’ll find your own way’. That’s what happened. We were a nervous wreck and I remember that we performed in front of a huge audience. But it went off so well. Prakash Jha and many others who had graced the show gave us a standing ovation for nearly 5 minutes. Then, we became very confident.
But this time, I was doubly apprehensive (smiles). To begin with, Deepti ji wasn’t there. Secondly, we decided to make some changes and introduced certain attributes to the show. I was also worried when Geetika came on board. Will she be able to match up with Deepti and take the mantle from her? As we rehearsed, we realized that she would be able to deliver. The first show was quite well received, as evident by the standing ovation. That was satisfying as it is a difficult play. It consists of just two people sitting and talking to the audience, and not to each other!
Interestingly, the more I play Sahir, the more I discover newer layers of the character. Sahir was very complex, dark and stark. It’s like a bottomless pit – you keep going down and discover these newer attributes of him.
A lot of people, especially in Mumbai, are not well versed in Urdu and yet, I saw many of them break into ‘Waah Waah’…
Yeh toh kuch nahin hai. The earlier version had a lot of Urdu as well as Punjabi dialogues. Urdu toh bahut duur ki baat hai, kambakkht Hindi theek se nahin bol paate! For many of them, it could be a cultural shock. They wonder, ‘Yeh kaunsi zubaan bol rahe hai bhai? Kya yeh Farsi hai ya Urdu hai ya Greek hai?’! I used to joke that the audience would look at me and remark ‘I don’t understand anything but whatever you say, it sounds good’! I could see it on their faces. It’s like listening to a ghazal. Many can’t decipher it and yet they enjoy it as they like the singing, the sound of it.
This time, there was usage of Urdu and Hindi dialogues. I guess that in a play like this where people are bereft of language ethos, they soon begin to get the gist of it. Once you catch on, then it becomes a beautiful journey into the hearts.
Geetika Tyagi was excellent but could you tell us why Deepti Naval didn’t play the role this time?
She had her reasons. She had a health scare – she went through a bypass surgery. She is writing her book and is also travelling. Hence, she was more unsure this time than the last time. No amount of coaxing helped. She said, ‘I’d love to do it but I am just not getting the confidence now’. Without her, I felt incomplete as we started our journey together. It was an absolute pleasure to work with her. We fitted like a hand in glove, just like Sahir and Amrita.
How is your bond with Saif Hyder Hasan?
He is fun to work with. I told him, ‘This time, I am going to interpret it the way I want to. I am going to add a lot of nazms as well’. I also insisted that I would add a bit of anger that Sahir was known for. That’s why the line ‘Aurat ne janam diya mardo ko; mardo ne use bazar diya’ was added. Or even ‘Zara mulk ke rahbaron ko bulaao, yeh kooche ye galiyaan yeh manzhar dikhaao, jinhe naaz hai hind par unko laao’. That is what Sahir quintessentially was. He asked, ‘Get those people who talk about the beautiful nation and its ethos; where are they?’. I incorporated them. There’s so much literature that even if we have a four-hour play, it’ll still be incomplete. The idea was to get a little more of that side of Sahir and Amrita.
It was a pleasure to see you perform. A lot of us wonder why we don’t see you do more films or shows…
That’s a big question I have not been able to answer. My wife and everyone else keep asking me. I don’t have an answer except for the fact that I was chosen at a young age to play Charudutt in my first film (Utsav; 1984). Shashi Kapoor must have seen something in me then that amongst thousands of other actors, he chose me. Probably, that’s not the vision that a lot of people possess.
Nevertheless, I have been given those opportunities whether it was Reporter, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Main, etc. A lot of these TV shows along with films like Tridev (1989), Pati Parmeshwar (1990) etc, did get me recognition. Yet, it’s a journey that you feel is incomplete and that’s the beauty of it. On the other hand, I feel fortunate that I got a chance to play Manto as well as Sahir (he played Saadat Hasan Manto in the play Ek Haan). In fact, I feel that I was born to play Sahir. I keep telling Saif, ‘No one else in the industry except me could have played Sahir’ for the simple reason that I was given a book of ‘Parchhaiyan’ when I was 8. I have lived with that and I have grown with his songs and nazms. It was destined. When Saif approached Deepti for Amrita Pritam, she said, ‘Why don’t you cast Shekhar?’. He had not thought of me; she recommended me. He told her, ‘Heck. Why didn’t I think of that?’. After that, there were no more names.
Interestingly, it’s not like Dipti knew this side of me. She knew that I had the histrionics and bent towards literature. But she had no idea that I was obsessed with Sahir. She suggested my name out of the blue. It was meant to happen and thank God for that (smiles).
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