For the first time this week, Indian actor and director Naseeruddin Shah is bringing his entire family together on stage in Dubai.
Riding Madly Off In All Directions, based on the work of Stephen Leacock, is an unusual production because it’s not a play. It’s an ensemble of short stories and essays by the Canadian writer theatrically adapted by Shah in English, something he says he has wanted to do for a long time.
“Among my favourite writers is Richard Gordon and P.G. Woodhouse and in school I loved [the Just William books] by Richmal Crompton and [the character] Billy Bunter. Stephen Leacock’s humorous writing has always appealed to me since I was a child because it was thought-provoking humour and not just a series of jokes,” Shah tells Gulf News tabloid!. “Two of the stories we are [performing] are stories I read in class eight or nine. They’ve stayed with me. What decided [this production] was the story called The Man in Asbestos, which I read only last year. It was a completely hypnotic story and I decided I needed to do this.”
Another “temptation” to do the show, says Shah, was to get the whole family — his wife Ratna, daughter Heeba, and sons Imad and Vivaan — to act together.
“This would [have been] a chance for us to bond and hopefully, help them develop their instincts about theatre. The challenge in presenting it — apart from the actors taking me a little bit for granted — was none of them were dramatic stories, and more of musings,” says Shah. “I did feel hopeless at times but we persevered and I think we’ve come up with a pretty watchable theatre evening.”
The show has five stories in which each member of the family play central characters while the rest of them support. Not many would be familiar with the late 19th century humourist Leacock, who was a political scientist, teacher and wrote mainly books on economics.
“Only two pieces have a universal relevance. One is about a dystopian future [The Man in Asbestos], which is really where we seem to be heading. The other is one that talks about how adults see perceived violence in nursery rhymes. You know, literally every nursery rhyme is pretty violent,” he explains. “The others are humorous pieces. But I think it connects with us and that’s more important for me than being socially or politically relevant”.
The adaptation wasn’t easy. Both Shah and Ratna, who helped in conceptualising and selection of stories agree that there were doubts on all sides as to where the production was heading.
“[But] it has turned out quite wonderfully. I must say we didn’t have an idea how to go about them, but then we didn’t have an idea when we started on Ismat Apa Ke Naam either,” says Ratna, referring to their previous production.
Doubts whether the audience would understand the production lingered. But that’s not what really bothered Shah.
“What I choose to do in theatre is for myself and if I’m lucky enough to get an audience to share with, I consider it a bonus. I respect the audience deeply, but not all our plays have been well attended and that hasn’t deterred us. Often times, the audience also shares our joy. If they reject something I’ve done, I take it in the same spirit as when they accept it,” says Shah.
Ask them who one should look out for in the ensemble and both parents laugh, crying out “unfair”.
“That’s a very tricky question,” says Ratna. “I wouldn’t want to answer that. I think the whole evening is going to be a surprise because it’s nothing like what you’ve come across before. It’s simple, sometimes to the point of being childish, yet profound and really funny.”
“I think all the actors have come across splendidly and I think you’ll find it difficult to single out anyone, which I guess is the reason for the success of this production,” says Shah. “It would be unfair to single out one and it is the director’s responsibility to see that everyone’s performance delivers on the same level. But, I think who will be a surprise is Heeba.”
The five Shahs tell Gulf News tabloid! about their characters:
Naseeruddin Shah: After a brief appearance in last week’s Bollywood release OK Jaanu, Shah says he’s consciously looking to do smaller roles in films. His next film is Irada with Arshad Warsi and directed by newcomer Aparna Singh. In theatre, he is in the planning stages for next year.
In Riding Madly Off In All Directions, Shah will be taking the lead in The Man in Asbestos. It’s about a writer who dreams he goes into the future and meets the kind of creatures that exist in the 30th century.
“What he sees is quite astounding. Society as he knew has practically disappeared. Human contact has vanished. People wear clothes made of asbestos because it lasts forever. There are no accidents because there’s no transportation, there are no telephones so communication has ended. People have everything they need — chemical food, asbestos clothes — and they are reduced to a robot-like state, though not completely. They still have, I suppose, feelings but they’ve learnt to suppress them,” Shah says.
“I’m playing both the writer and the man in asbestos, and I had to find a way to make the character of the man in asbestos arresting because he is not emotional and he does not speak with any intonation but in a complete monotone. It was a great challenge to keep this monotone and the audience’s interest going. I had to really work hard on it. It’s 40 minutes long and can tax the audience’s patience a little bit. But reviewers need to know that this is not really a play, or even stories. They are writings that I found simulating to read and which I felt the urge to share with an audience.”
Ratna Pathak Shah: Ratna Pathak Shah is riding high on a successful 2016 with a brilliant performance in Kapoor & Sons and the ensuing award nominations for it. Her next release is Lipstick Under My Burkha, a film depicting stories of four women set in Bhopal. She’s also shooting for a film called Love Per Square Foot.
On Friday, she will be seen as the lead character in the story A, B and C, which she says she loved.
“There’s no character, there’s only a story. I’m playing the story teller. I’m talking about the human element in mathematics. Leacock imagines A, B and C as personalities and talks about how they are and what kind of problems they’ve encountered in life. He takes a very humorous view on the subject of mathematics,” she says.
Ratna believes the production is a collaborative effort by the entire family.
“I was largely the sounding board for Naseer to help him read up and select some of the pieces. Also, [I took it on myself] to find some interesting information about Leacock… We keep up with the whole design of the production, on the floor. Imad and Vivaan sourced the music for us; Heeba was involved with the props. We also find it works very well to be on the road as a small team. I also believe that actors shouldn’t just be the ones who go out and get the applause but also people who contribute. That’s a very important part in an actor’s training in theatre at least.”
Heeba Shah: The older sibling of the Shah kids takes on the lead in My Financial Career, about a person who goes to the bank to deposit a small amount of money. As they were all on stage at the same time, she says it wasn’t all smooth sailing during the creation of the show.
“It was great fun of course. But nothing so serious, we just got more aware of each other’s artistic egos,” she says. “I would say all five of us do something special. Imad has this quality which makes it seem like whatever he does, he does it effortlessly. Vivaan has this extremely high energy and picks up things very fast. That’s what I want to imbibe from them. Dad, of course, I just love watching him and my mum is super organised. She works out everything to the last detail. That’s what I need to take from her”.
Her character in the story is quite close to her in real life.
“[The act] is about how nervous she feels while she’s there. It’s something that I could relate to as to an extent. I’m like that. She is very awkward and keeps making all sorts of blunders. It was interesting playing her because I am awkward in life — at least I used to be. Now I try very hard not to be. It was a fun idea but difficult to play as you needed to bring out this nervousness in the precise way. Also the approach [to the production] was different, which was interesting.”
Imad Shah: A musician just as much as an actor, Naseeruddin and Ratna Pathak Shah’s older son says that this production brought out a “whole new set of skills” in them.
“We play multiple characters, appearing in smaller roles in each one’s story. In my main story I play a homeless man — as do the others — sitting in the open around a bonfire as it’s freezing. We have a guitar and try to avoid the cold,” says Imad, who also composed for the show. “It was an entirely different [experience] because it’s the first time we are tackling this kind of material and had to do a new pattern of speech because of the style of writing. It’s a little bit old school because it was all written in the early 1900s. [But] the big effort was not to do anything that would take away from the humour or the brilliance of the writing.
“As for disagreements, they are there in every play, every performance or any cooperative project. There were differences in opinion and style but that’s all part of the creative process. As long as that disagreement is healthy and it’s productive you can come to a new point of view, which often turns out to be the best way to do something. So even with us, being a family, working with people we are close to, no doubt is a challenge of its own kind. But I think we all dealt with them with one thing in mind that we need to result it in something good.”
Vivaan Shah: With some good performances in 7 Khoon Maaf (2011) and Happy New Year (2014), Vivaan is currently working on Laali Ki Shaadi Mein Laddoo Deewana, a comedy. Even in Conjurer’s Revenge — his act in Riding Madly Off in All Directions — Vivaan has received much praise.
“It was great fun playing [a conjurer], going slightly over the top. I met a magician to learn how they work and it was very fascinating. He was kind enough to teach me a few tricks too, which was very generous because magicians don’t really want to reveal their secrets,” says Vivaan of his character.
Being the youngest member of the family on stage, however, doesn’t mean he gets away with anything.
“I think I’m the most mischievous and that’s what I try and bring to the stage because when we are working on a play or a movie there’s a very serious atmosphere. So I look upon myself as someone who has to lighten up the mood, make jokes and have fun. Pressure to perform is, of course, always there [as everyone else has set an example] but it’s a healthy pressure. It motivates you to do better.”
Don’t miss it!
Riding Madly Off In All Directions will be held at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, on Friday, January 20 at 5pm and 8pm. Tickets start at Dh200 on ductac.org.
