Akvarious, one of the prolific English/Hindi theatre groups in Mumbai will just be completing over a busy week of various plays from its repertoire, which also now includes its latest production of Michael Puzzo's A GUY THING. Akarsh Khurana, Artistic Director in charge, speaks to Afsha Khan about what is making Akvarious tick, and of what lies ahead.
MTG editorial
You've had THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN and A GUY THING (your latest production) performed two days in a row. Akvarious also has had its 50th showing of ALL ABOUT WOMEN. How did you do it? These shows have all happened over a period of time. ALL ABOUT WOMEN has been running for over two years. Tintin opened at Prithvi Summertime this year, and went on to perform in Bangalore. So both these productions are in a ready space and pretty self-sufficient. A GUY THING is currently our focus.
Akvarious has come to be quite prolific over the past couple of years. What's the secret to your success? The people. We have a gifted bunch of completely insane theatrewallahs, who are willing to do the most preposterous and suicidal things because of their passion for theatre. There is a great sense of camaraderie, which generally makes every task easier, and such achievements more attainable.
This summer saw Akvarious delve into timeless children's stories such as THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ (The Shehenshah of Azeemo) and THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN. What has your experience been like? Besides being great fun to revisit stuff we grew up on, there is a somewhat tricky element - finding a balance between doing justice to a timeless classic or a popular piece of work and being able to put a relatable, sometimes contemporary spin to it. We've been fortunate with our experiences so far.
Did you expect your children's productions to be popular? What were your expectations from your young audience members and have they lived up to them? When we started with A SPECIAL BOND in 2007 we had no idea what reactions we'd get. But over some shows we were able to gauge what worked and what didn't. We've been pushing the envelope ever since. With Azeemo, we experimented with live singing and it clicked. With Bond 2, we took a page from Hollywood animation films like Shrek and moved into more mature humour, and this included adults as well, who enjoyed it equally. THE MYSTERY OF THE PANTOMIME CAT recreated the world of Enid Blyton and moved away from comedy and shenanigans. Now Tintin experiments with a lot of action or clean, comic book violence. The young audience has lapped it all up, touchwood. What's better is how adults have been so supportive, by encouraging their children to be exposed to this content. Perhaps the best feeling is when the kids go out there and buy the books.
What are the pointers that one needs to keep in mind when directing a play for children, as opposed to a mature audience? Content for children has to be carefully selected and customized. Beyond that, especially in terms of stagecraft, you have to work as hard, if not harder. One common mistake is to underestimate the intelligence levels of kids today. They're damn smart, exposed to very high quality products and don't settle for anything less.
Personally, what kind of scripts do you like to direct? I like to tell good stories. Stories I would like to hear myself. That's the only real criterion.
AFSANEH... and ALL ABOUT WOMEN have been nominated for several awards. How does it feel? It's a terrific feeling. Especially because AFSANEH and ALL ABOUT WOMEN got selected in the same year for the META awards. So suddenly the selected ten best plays in the country featured two of ours. Quite a rush. We came back empty handed, but it was a very memorable experience, being there, performing with people from all over, seeing their work, and yes, this little group from Mumbai was suddenly on the theatre map. The next year we made it to the ten again with BLACKBIRD, which among other things was a great boost for our confidence. And Shernaz Patel bagged the Best Actress award. So that was a bonus.
Do you get approached a lot by new and upcoming scriptwriters? On what basis do you select/ reject new scripts? Initially I just chose to do stuff that appealed to me. But as the core team grew, I started considering their suggestions too, since I knew the sensibilities at play. When I'm not directing, I usually choose a team member to direct, and see what they want to create. However, on occasion, I have found a script that I think a particular person is best suited to direct, so then we go that route, thus creating a project. It is also essential to have an overview, and decide new projects keeping the group's portfolio, thus maintaining a level of quality, and managing a variety of genres at the same time.
You have presumably grown up in an atmosphere of theatre with your father Akash Khurana being a well-known actor and director. Can you comment on the changes you've seen in the theatre scene over the years? What is it like today? I'm not sure if I'm in a position to comment on the way theatre processes have changed. My involvement, even though it completes ten years this December, is relatively recent. One thing I have noticed, and have heard it acknowledged as a change, is the fact that the Mumbai theatre environment has become very fraternal. Everyone works with everyone. Old feudal systems of exclusivity in groups are fading away. With the advent of younger groups, there's a lot more sharing of resources happening today, and with wonderful results.
You have also worked in films, and have worked on Krrish, U Me and Hum, etc. Why not concentrate entirely on that? I love both fields immensely, and don't want to give up either. Initially theatre work was irregular, and film work was top priority. As Akvarious found its footing and became something of a group to reckon with, I shifted focus to setting up the company, and film work took a bit of a backseat. However now I am maintaining a balance, and am happiest this way.
Any forthcoming big screen productions we should be looking forward to? Early discussions are on about a sequel to Krrish, but nothing is confirmed as yet. Another writing project starring and produced by Ajay Devgan, and directed by Ashwni Dhir, is nearing completion.
What are the new productions Akvarious is working on? Timelines of when they will be out? A GUY THING has just opened to a tremendous response, and we would like to do many more shows. Early December we are scheduled to open a staged adaptation of Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca for the NCPA festival. Besides this, a few more projects are in the pipeline, including a devised piece being put together by my father, and Hidaayat Sami's second directorial venture.
You've had THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN and A GUY THING (your latest production) performed two days in a row. Akvarious also has had its 50th showing of ALL ABOUT WOMEN. How did you do it? 
