Rajesh Khattar has been winning a standing ovation for his performance in his wife Vandana Sajnani's and his home production, FOUR PLAY. Here, he talks about the superwoman in his life, and reveals how he evokes laughter right through his act.  Deepa Ranade Vandana Sajnani plays so many roles in your life - of a wife, producer-director and your co-actor. Which one is she best at? Oh, Vandana is such a multifaceted personality- being a wife, actor, producer-director--she does everything so well . She approaches everything with single-mindedness, has a clear vision about what she wants, and she puts all her energy to it. What attracted you to the role apart from Vandana also acting in the play? There is something in it that I had not done earlier. It was a regular kind of a role but I wanted to give it my own characterization to it. Theatre is a wonderful exercise for any actor to go beyond his comfort zone. I wanted to create a character which was not Rajesh Khattar. In films and TV, I am stuck with Richie Rich a la Vijay Mallya kind of image, or of that of a don. Whereas, Raj Malhotra of FOUR PLAY is in his 40s. But he's very innocent; he's a 9 to 5 regular guy and there aren't many lines in the play that can help evoke laughter, I had to work it in through my acting. What prompted Vandana to cast you and what kind of a director is she? She respects me as an actor and that is why she casts me. It has got nothing to do with my being her husband. I was working in her plays even before that. She has tremendous faith in me and I have always proved her right. Theatre is an actor's medium and after the third bell you are on your own. No director can help you after that - it's you and the audience. But Vandana gives her actors a lot of leeway within the given parameters. She is firm yet flexible. What is the highpoint in FOUR PLAY for you? The scenes which have no humour in the script, and yet the audience bursts out laughing. That is evoked through my body language and expressions alone. Those are the moments I cherish. What is the future of English theatre? Is comedy the only way to subsist? You have to give a perfect blend of what people want to see while initiating them into the rich language of Theatre. The format of our play is comedy. People want laugh-a-minute performances, and want to have a good time that is worth their ticket. You have to give them the theatrics. They come back for that. At the same time we are giving them a literary play. I have worked in five languages on stage, done Shakespeare, and am now doing commercial theatre. The biggest achievement for me would be to initiate a non-theatre goer to come into the theatre. What are your future films? Any TV shows ahead? I am a part of the film Don 2, Sagar Ballary's Hum Tum Shabana, a Studio 18 film, Diaries of a Butterfly, and a TV show is also on the cards. It is a busy year ahead. *Deepa Ranade is a film and theatre reviewer. 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Thakkar Jameel Khan Anupama Jayaram Lilelette Dubey Avatar Gill Dharmendra Gohil Rajesh Puri Kumud Mishra Kumar Shahu Meenal Patel Mujeeb Khan Anant Mudra Utkarsh Mazumdar Shekhar Sen1 Manav Kaul Rati Agnihotri Smita Jaykar Uday Chandra Rahul Da Cunha Atul Kumar Manoj Joshi Jaimini Pathak Boman Irani Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal Naseerudin Shah Joy Fernandez Kamlesh Mota Dinesh Thakur    Discussion Board

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