Utkarsh Mazumdar has been doing theatre for several years. He has done plays in English, Hindi and Gujarati. His performances in plays like �Black With Equal� and �Tran Gujarati� have been widely appreciated. In an interview, Utkarsh discusses the state of Gujarati theatre. Excerpts. - by Purva Desai Being a Gujarati artist, where do you think Gujarati theatre stands today? At the moment, Gujarati theatre is doing very well. But there is no future. All regional theatre is going to die down. The future is very bleak. For theatre to survive, you need writers, directors and an audience. Gujarati medium schools have closed down. Therefore, there will be no new writers. Even pure Gujarati is not understood by the audience or the actors. Actors find it difficult to read scripts. Where is the new input? The link is broken. We hardly speak the language anymore. Maybe at home with parents and grandparents. What about the future generation? They will only talk in English. English is taking over. Gujarati theatre has survived because of my generation and the generation before that. First, halls used to be full with audiences. Culture is changing, the whole scenario has changed. Do you think all that the audience wants is comedy? The trend has changed. Even in films, the trend has changed. After the fall of leftist ideology, there was nothing to look forward to. Materialism and consumerism swallowed people. Money has become the main motive today. There is no ideology today. You constantly require money. It is escapist entertainment. No one wants serious stuff. Comedy is all people want. Serious theatre won�t run even in English. No one wants anything profound. People instantly ask for comedy. Producers want a hit show. My generation might try, but after that there will be no one left to even try. The moment you think of doing something different, you realize that you need to act upon these issues. But then it means letting go of your comforts. So no one bothers. How much publicity does Gujarati theatre get? Your play, �Tran Gujarati� has received rare reviews. Do you think people are finally ready to accept experimental plays? Now people don�t come for anything that is experimental. It is only houseful on Sundays. Audience comes for entertainment only on Sundays. Bhaidas has closed down due to renovation. Therefore people come to Prihvi. Once it reopens, the crowd will divert automatically. In experimental theatre, only if there are a couple of groups will there be any change. Once �Tran Gujarati� closes down, then what? Society and people are doing nothing to improve the State of Gujarati Theater. We are not being paid for this play. People are not supporting. Everyone is oblivious. Having done English theatre also, do you think level of professionalism differs? There is no difference in level of professionalism in English and Gujarati theatre. Type of place makes a difference. If it is a bedroom farce, then I wont do it. If it is a play like �Going Solo� or even �Black With Equal� or �Tran Gujarati�, then it is fun doing them. The group play and subject matter to me. You cannot differentiate on the basis of language. 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