Ajay Mathur

The world of theatre is not just about the grandeur of live stage performance, soul-stirring music, magical spotlights, designer costumes, lofty sets or charismatic props; when the man on the stage is Anant Narayan Mahadevan, it has to be instant chemistry between him and his audiences and much more, and that is an inexplicable experience.

For a vast fraternity of theatre and film enthusiasts, Anant Mahadevan is no ordinary actor. He has to his credit an array of awards and accolades as an actor, screenplay writer, and director. He is the recipient of the National Award for the Best Screenplay and Dialogues in 2010 for a Marathi film ‘Mee Sondhutai Sapkal. ’ His film ‘Gour Hari Dastaan’ was featured in the International Film Festival of India in Goa, Bangalore and Kerala in 2014.

Despite winning thunderous applause at several global film festivals, the theatre has always been a for Anant Mahadevan’s first love. Mahadevan’s contribution in bridging the north-south divide is immense as he is gifted with the ability to speak languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi, Hindi and English.

In a candid conversation with Awaz-the Voice, Anant  Mahadevan spoke about his 40-year journey in theatre.  His first stage performance came in 1978 when he played the role of Polonius in the famous Shakespeare play Hamlet at the Tejpal Auditorium where Dilip Kumar sat in the front row as the chief guest.

“His presence was a great honour for me, as I have always been an ardent fan of Dilip Kumar. Soon after my graduation, I took a plunge into professional theatre along with retaining my job as a copywriter in the Mumbai based Advertising Agency Bombay Publicity .”

On the significance of oriental theatre in his life, Anant Mahadevan says, “I played the role of Inspector General in nautanki style in Mudrarakshahs that was a musical fiesta. Some of my most memorable stage performances include Vijay Tendulkar Jaat Hi Poocho Ki, Ray Coney’s Run for Your wife, Shankar’s Raktabeej, Richard Nash’s The Rainmaker Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor. I have done 30-40 odd plays and given 3,000 performances in different countries.”

Anant Mahadevan said, “Unfortunately in India, the theatre has never been recorded and preserved. Even when we use to watch the recordings at NCPA, I often felt that the fun and frolic, charm and charisma of live performance can never be compromised. Live performance is quite like one day international where the pitch of excitement lies till the last ball gets delivered. Every act that you perform on the stage is different from the last one. Online theatre may sound fancy in the stormy pandemic days but we are all living in a transitory mode, so none can snatch away the allurement factor from live theatre performance.”

According to Anant Mahadevan,” Every single performance on stage is an acid litmus test. Audience reaction is spontaneous but unpredictable. Every performance should be treated as a new performance .During my several stage shows, I have seen many highs and lows as sometimes the audience react by splitting on peals of laughter and I use to literally hold myself for a while to grasp the audience reflexes without losing spontaneity.”

 Mahadevan  “Theatre is a melange of emotions. High -low, that’s the reason why you go bare on stage. You do not know what’s waiting for you. I have set my own standard of benchmarks  in the theatre world.”

Anant Mahadevan believes that humour is the best antidote in life. He says, “I don’t take life seriously and I don’t take myself seriously. I can take a joke on myself. I have done a comedy show Blame it on Yash Raj which was take off on the 10-day weddings in India. I feel laughter is the best stress buster. .Jaane bhhi do yaaron was a classic case study. Theatre has an enormous potential to imbibe wit and humour in various stage shows.”

Anant Mahadevan  is optimistic about the revival of theatre with innovation, talent, and cutting edge technology.

Mahadevan ends the conversation on a philosophical note, “Creators need to be the mirror of the society. Theatre must thrive, no matter what it takes, in spite of the onslaught of the OTT platforms as live theatre performances are like an instant coffee where you get the audience response quite like the first sip of the Expresso. At the end of the day, the show must go on...”