Manoj Joshi has been doing theatre for the past 18 years. He is an experienced actor-director who has done plays in Marathi,Gujarati and Hindi. He won the best actor award in 1990 for his role in the Gujarati Play 'Chanakya'. He won yet another Award in 1997 for his role in 'Gandhi Virudh Gandhi'. Manoj Joshi is currently directing a play on the life of 'Sardar Vallabh Patel'.
- by Purva Desai
I fell that plays should have substance. Sadly, not much of plays performed today have any substance. They are just commercial hits.
Your views on the current theatre scenario In Mumbai?
Theatre people believe that anything that is commercial will be good. Plays should have an impact. Audiences should connect with the play. It has become a star-studded theatre scenario today. Producers and directors take Stars who are great actors and they do it very cleverly. But their performance is creditable. There is a scarcity of writers. There maybe 2 or 3 Gujarati writers. We have few good writers like Aatish Kapadia in Gujarati theatre. Today in Gujarati theatre a trend has occurred, where by comedies are churned by and large. If one comedy play is a hit, then all have to be made that way. The producers of these plays feel that the audiences want something that will make them laugh. They do the thinking for the audience. But that is not the case. Give the audience a good play and they will love it. Marathi theatre is not glossy, it is very realistic and it is very stable. Gujarati theatre is very glossy. Everything is depicted in a loud manner that is not needed. Few Marathi plays are good, but I am not happy. We are hoping that there will be something good.
Having done plays in Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi, do you think your career as an actor has come full circle?
I am not satisfied although I enjoyed what I did in Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi. I have total command on three languages and I think I am extremely lucky. I have done comedies also. I don�t want to do very serious theatre, though I have done serious roles in plays like Gandhi Vs. Gandhi and Chanakya. In Gandhi Vs. Gandhi, I played a very diverse role. Gandhi was deteriorating. I think I showed the mental deterioration very well. I had to portray Gandhi from the time he was 16 to the time he was 59. It was the most challenging role I have played. I am not a mimicry artist. I read the script. Decide the correct attitude. That�s why you do not see me, because with the correct attitude, I portray the character. An actor should be an intelligent person. He should know the psychology of the character. He should know the right attitude. You have to be alert. My one character is never same like the other. I am not a stylized actor, am spontaneous, not a method actor.
Any new projects that you plan to direct?
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
Why yet another historical figure?
I played several historical characters but that was a co-incidence. These characters are unavoidable. Their work is very contemporary. But with Sardar, I want it to be a commercial play, and I am sure it will be a commercial success. My play will be based on true history. It will be researched by Chandrkant Bakshi and will be written by Geeta Manek.
