When 'the wonder girl of Marathi cinema' (as she is fondly called) Varsha Usgaonkar bagged the cameo to play Uttara in B.R Copra's epic Mahabharata little did she know that it would open her the doors to Bollywood. Debuting with Honeymoon opposite Rishi Kapoor under the direction of Surendera Mohan she was in there for quite some time. Although she got confined to typical films doing routine roles followed by a lull. The green-eyed beauty then shifted to television serials only to return to stage again. We spoke to the actress during the rehearsals of her latest Hindi play 'Bas ek tum ho bas ek hum hain' where she settled down answer our questions. - By Deep Hembrol Moving away from films you've turned to theatre what is the reason behind this deviation? My attachment with theatre is not new found but it dates back to 1988. Even before my joining films I was actively involved with theatre then I did a Marathi play called Brahmachari, followed by three or four more plays and then films happened. Due to my film commitments I faced difficulties in managing both films and plays at the same time. Hence I was kept aloof from stage for eight long years but by this time people started voicing that I used theatre as a ladder to join films but it was not true. I happily returned to 'theatre' my first love the previous year with Marathi drama Double game and my first Hindi play Devdas ki Paro with Shekhar Suman. How is acting on stage different from films? In films once a scene is shot and canned you can do nothing to upgrade or improvise your performance therein. As against this in the case of plays once a show is staged the play goes directly in the hands of the actor. Here is where I get an opportunity to refine and polish my performance show after shows keeping in mind the crux of the character. Something about your character in Bas ek tum ho bas ek hum hain. The play is based on the husband-wife facing difficulties in coping with their relationship. The husband played by Faisal Khan is chauvinist and egoistic the wife is also egoistic but being a woman I am partial to my character. As I believe women have now come at par with men in the professional front and the same attitude should be adopted when it comes to managing home. The issues between the two get severe and intense leading to their separation due to, which they loose, the best part of their life together. How different is BETHBEKH from other plays that you have been doing? Yes, there is a slight difference because this is for the first time I am doing a two people play. There are only two characters initially I felt a vague emptiness and thought I couldn't do it as I was used to having more actors around. But with course of time and the ongoing rehearsals as Faisal and I got into the skin of the characters I now feel no void. What was the experience acting with and being directed by Faisal Khan? He is indeed a good director and a perfectionist and an amicable person. I learnt few things from him, as there are only two characters we directed each other. What do you have to say about the present phase of Hindi theatre? Unlike Marathi there is a kind of stagnancy that spreads over Hindi theatre. I think there are plentitude and an abundant diet available in Marathi literature that can be adapted and presented in Hindi. Marathi is a storehouse of beautiful prose that needs to be tapped more adaptations should be made, and people should not be deprived of this vast wealth. So, meanwhile is it only theatre for you? As a matter of fact yes, it is yet I am doing Kader Kashmiri's 'Hatya' with Akshay Kumar. There are also a couple of television serials like 'Kabhie kabhie', 'Bandi' in Hindi and 'Tujhaas saathi' and 'Khel charita sa' in Marathi. Tell us what you think of this article

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