Ajay Mathur/New Delhi

Arif Zakaria is one of the most sought after names in the field of acting in the theatre and films. At 54, Zakaria has made a great contribution to the evolution of English theatre and won accolades and many awards.

Zakaria made his debut in the professional world of theatre while pursuing his graduation at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. Zakaria has played diverse characters in several plays with over 800 shows of his most talked aboutThe Merchant of Bollywood  Australian Musical extravaganza that gave him global recognition.

Speaking with Awaz-the voice, Zakaria said, “My theatre stint with The Merchant of Bollywood instilled in me the great work ethic and ignited the spark of creative ingenuity. It also gave me professional ability to experiment with my role and character in  every single stage performance as all stage performances are a shade different from the previous one.”

Arif Zakaria in The merchants of Bollywood (Courtesy Auckland Live)

On his experiences with the Australian play that gave him instant stardom around the world, Zakaria says,  “The Merchant of Bollywood was a unique theatre collaboration, a musical based in Mumbai and Rajasthan following the journey of a young girl Ayesha. I have been associated with them since 2005 performing in Europe, Australia and China.”

He started playing the protagonist Shantilal Merchant and ended up playing all the male roles in the production - grandfather, the film director, the narrator and the Rajasthani villager.

On his iconic stage performance in Gardish Mein Taare directed by Saif Hyder Hasan, he says, “My recent live theatre performance both in Toronto and Sydney for this blockbuster theatre production gave me an instant audience connect, and it really matters to me a lot. I always take the audience reaction seriously and try to improvise each time I face the live audience on stage.”

Zakaria strongly believes that “good theatre unites and unifies different ideologies and perspectives and is secular to the last decimal. In my opinion, good theatre is all about bridging the communal divide and adding inclusiveness in the social-cultural ethos of the nation, which is more than evident on stage once there is a curtain call.”

Posters of Arif Zakaria's theatre play

On his future ventures, Zakaria says that “Online Theatre is in a transitory mode; Live stage performance is ingrained with the TINA factor. The audience segmentation who are enthusiastic about live stage performances has a niche character, but good Indian theatre must attract the attention value of all those who are looking for something different which they don’t witness in mundane Bollywood masala films.”

The buck doesn’t stop here for Arif Zakaria as a cult figure. Even before his fame spread overseas, Zakaria was known for several memorable roles like Emmi Begum in Darmiyan for which he has been nominated for the coveted National Film Award.

He is portrayed Rustom Sethna in Deepa Mehta’s epochal film Earth/1947. Since then, Zakaria never looked back. He has acted in several TV series, short films and Bollywood commercial cinema. Some of his prominent films where Zakaria acted are Nanak Shah Fakir, Haunted-3D, Krish 3, Jism 2, Raazi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Lootera, My Name is Khan and more.

For Arif Zakaria great acting is all about passion, people and perseverance. “At the end of the day, it’s the audience who makes a great star and a good actor must be driven by his audience and fans and must follow critical appreciation.