Aniruddha Khutwad works as visiting faculty at his alma mater and at the Film and Television Institute India (FTII) where he teaches acting based on the Stanislavski System. He conducts theatre workshops across various parts of India including Ladakh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra. He has directed numerous plays in Marathi and in Hindi for prominent institutions and theatre groups across India. Some of his work includes MAHAPOOR for Kala Kendra, Pune, SAINYA BHAYE KOTWAL for the NSD, EK RIKAMI BAJU for Theatrix, Mumbai, PARTY for Academy of Theatre Arts, Mumbai University, ADHANTAR and THE LOWER DEPTHS for NSD and KAAY DANGER WARA SUTLAY for Maharashtra Rangabhoomi, Mumbai. He has recently directed Dr. Gieve Patel's MISTER BEHRAM for Kala Kendra, which has been translated into Marathi by Shanta Gokhale. Aniruddha was the Chief Assistant Director for the Hindi film Haasil, Marathi film Valu and telefilms Najarana, Fursat Mein, Ek Shaam Ki Mulakaat, Anekon Hitler, Musafir and others. He was the casting director for Gandhi -My Father, Haasil, Valu and Doha. Aniruddha Khutwad was a part of the faculty when The Drama School, Mumbai (DSM) opened its doors to new students in 2013. He now returns to the school to direct the annual production - JULIET AUR USKA ROMEO
The play will be staged at the Marathi Sahitya Sangh auditorium, Girgaum, Mumbai on 12th, 13th and 14th February 2016.
By Saudamini Kalra
Saudamini Kalra (SK): You have been faculty at The Drama School Mumbai (DSM) in the past. What was it like to work with the students in the capacity of the Director of their annual production this time? Aniruddha Khutwad (AK): I had not taught this batch as faculty and was to work with them for the first time as a Director. Before commencing the production, I went to watch a few Theatre Making Labs (weekly class showings) by the students. Through those, I tried to gauge their level of training and skill. We began rehearsals in early January, working through improvisations and exploring different approaches to the story. In this time, I did not provide directorial inputs but instead observed the students to understand how they worked. While I was clear about approaching the play through a realistic bend, I found that the students' training led them to lean more towards craft and movement.
However, teachers like Sunil Shanbag and Mahesh Dattani, who had introduced them to many aspects of realism, had paved some ground and given them a basic understanding which made things easier for me. I began to explore the text with them through realism rather than through the traditional Elizabethan form of Shakespearean drama. I wanted to take them from the presentational to the representational. We began with environment-oriented scene work without fixed blocking and choreographing. Once we had enough material to work with, we made the journey towards transforming real life into realistic theatricality. So, from representation, in a way, we then returned to presentation. The process was a very good experience. Each of the thirteen actors was able to surrender and trust the process completely, which helped them achieve comfort with the style of the production.
SK: The title of the play JULIET AUR USKA ROMEO places weight on the female protagonist. Does this suggest a change in perspective? AK: Yes, it is from a different perspective and the emphasis on Juliet is supposed to indicate that shift. The titles of most great love stories begin with the name of the man first and then the woman. In love stories, traditionally, women have so much happening or being done to them that sometimes we forget to see their point of view. When we say ''Romeo and Juliet'', we indirectly imply ''Romeo and his Juliet''. It was the last line of the play, which reads as ''For never was a story of more woe/than this of Juliet and her Romeo'' that drove the idea for this version home.
The play follows a pattern in which Romeo acts and Juliet reacts. She doesn't propose or act much herself. Romeo comes to her balcony. Romeo then makes his way to her bedroom. Romeo kills her cousin Tybalt to avenge Mercutio's (in this version, Mercutia's) death. Juliet accepts and tries to work with whatever he throws at her, because as a young girl perhaps she feels she must. I wanted to bring focus to this aspect to her reaction rather than his action. It can also be said that Romeo takes her acceptance largely for granted. He never tries to understand or see things from her perspective. I'm not trying to blame Romeo for any wrong-doings, but I felt that it was important to highlight Juliet's point of view in this dynamic.
SK: Tell us a bit about your process of adapting the play. What context do Romeo and Juliet find themselves existing in this time? AK: It cannot be called an adaptation, per se. For that, we would have had to transfer the entire plot to an altogether new realm. Our play is still set in a place called ''Verona'' and the characters retain their names too. But this Verona could be anywhere, though we have worked with Mumbai in the back of our minds. The geography is not important. It is placed within a contemporary society with relatable social systems. So, Juliet is not fourteen but eighteen years old, and Romeo is a twenty-something young man. We want it to be accessible to the youth of today. The translation by Amitabh Srivastava is faithful to the original except for the Hindi/Urdu, to which we have added a colloquial touch. The style of speech we have employed too is not Shakespearean but rooted in our languages.
SK: Much of the vibrancy of the play lies in the density of its poetry. How does one retain this when working with a translated text? AK: Poetry was part of the style in the Elizabethan age. Since our approach is based in realism, we are using prose instead, but we are not taking Shakespeare for granted.
SK: Shakespeare inspired productions are a genre in themselves. ROMEO AND JULIET is one of the most performed of his plays. Is there any pressure to break new ground? AK: That pressure does always exist. We have seen ROMEO AND JULIET in many different versions already - from film to ballet adaptations. But I have only seen it played as Romeo and Juliet, never as Juliet and Romeo. It reminds me of the terms ''husband and wife'' or ''Mr. and Mrs.'' Why never ''Wife and husband''? Once I zoomed into this, the play started appearing new to me. It is still the same play. Only the angle of the camera stays on Juliet for longer.
Shakespeare is ubiquitous. He gets taught in school. I wonder if the students are even ready to handle the psychological matter of the plays, let alone enact them. So the productions end up as amateurish and superficial. I'm not saying that young kids should not perform Shakespeare but I am only speaking from my experiences with such work. It is like injecting students with Shakespeare. Similarly, very few at the University or even at the professional level are exploring and trying to sincerely find new forays into his work. They fear to touch the verse, the meter.
I feel Shakespeare needs to be explored much more. I enjoyed the film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by Baz Luhrmann. He had tried something new. A few other times too a Korean stage adaptation I saw in Delhi, a play by Anuradha (Kapoor) made new discoveries. How many more years can we go on with the same interpretations? And why? What's the significance? I try to relate Shakespeare to my own life, first. It only stays fresh and alive if it is relevant.
SK: Having been both an alumnus and a faculty at the National School of Drama, Delhi (NSD), as well as having worked with other universities, you are no stranger to student productions. How would you say that the students of The Drama School Mumbai measure up to their counterparts elsewhere? AK: Before this, when I have helped student productions, it has usually been with final (second or third) year students. They are already a little well-versed in theatre craft. The students at the DSM have trained for six months and this production is not the final chapter in their journey at school. I have taken care thus to make it an ongoing learning process for them like any other module of school. I have tried to develop their understanding of the craft as well. I encouraged them to use their own experiences from life, not just from working, as the source to feed their performances. I trust the young actors to give it their best.
*Saudamini Kalra is a student of theatre and occasionally a poet.
