Salim Arif

Salim Arif
Transcript of live chat with Theatre Director, Salim Arif on August 22, 2002 "As a director Kharaashein has been my best work till date" Salim Arif Theatre Director Netjerky > Coming from the National School of Drama (NSD), how come you didn't take up acting and what made you take up direction? Salim Arif > When I started doing theatre, I felt I could do much more in terms of design, lighting than just (play) a role. So as a director I was doing much more and was also acting frequently on stage. But I realised that I lacked the attitude of an actor and that my inclination was more towards direction and design. I never saw myself as an actor on stage. Had I been acting, I wouldn't have designed costumes, done direction etc (smiles). Queen_mary > You started your career with designing costumes for period films and television serials. Do you have great knowledge of that era or of costume designing? Salim Arif > I have done extensive research in the historical aspects of costuming. And, I am probably the only person who has done entire history of India from the costume point of view. My first work (that's how I came to Mumbai) in Shyam Benegal's Bharat Ek Khoj (on TV) would prove. Now, whenever someone makes a period film in India, inevitably they watch my work in Bharat Ek Khoj (it has become a referential work for period design in India). When Oliver Stone met me (He is making Alexander The Great), he consulted me for the costumes in his proposed film. Great knowledge would be a very pompous thing for me to say. But good knowledge, based on my research work is what I would say I possess. This costuming (in films) is more of character study. It is an extension of my training at the NSD and a director's vision. My costuming is rooted in the text and milieu of the subject, unlike the works of contemporary designers who are into fashion designing creating looks that are cosmetic in nature. Kalpana > Has your new Hindi play, Kharasheshein been well received by the masses because it deals with a tragic subject? What feedback you've been getting? Salim Arif > Kharasheshein has received tremendous response from whosoever has come to see it at the auditorium. We have received a standing ovation in all the shows so far. About the general masses, I cannot say because I have not had the opportunity of performing in front of them. And I don't see it as a street play. It is a serious subject but everyone has seen the point of view of the play and been moved by it. Kavota > Which was your first play as a director? How has been your experience in theatre so far? Salim Arif > My first play was "Exception and The Rule" as a workshop production in Nainital in 1983. I was still a second year student of NSD then. My last year, in Mumbai has been very good. I designed Naseeruddin Shah's Ismat Apa Ke Naam , directed the biggest Hindi theatre hit "Taj Mahal Ka Tender" with IPTA Mumbai and I have done a show on Ghalib's poetry and prose called "Ghalib Nama" where I read his letters on stage and Jaswinder sings his ghazals. Annu > Considering that so many low budget films are doing well today, do you also plan to make a low budget film? Salim Arif > I am in fact planning one with Atul Kulkarni of `Chandni Bar' fame and he is also acting in Kharaashein as the lead actor. Let's see. Anuradha > Why don't you concentrate on one medium - television, theatre or in making movies. Don't you think that will help firm up your footing in any one medium? Salim Arif > The kind of work I was doing before I came to Mumbai was essentially in theatre. So, while I was doing TV and films, theatre took a back seat. I was only teaching theatre at the National School of Drama (NSD) for 15-20 days in a year (at workshops). Since the last two years I have wanted to be an independent director in films without a Godfather here or abroad. It's taking time and my theatre commitments had to be fulfilled. But, I do only one thing at a time. Right now, TV is off. In films, I am struggling presently. Hence, theatre gives me a creative outlet at present. I may take off from theatre and make a film and again come back to theatre or films or TV, in case something interesting happens. Lamhrithik > You said you are planning a low budget film, so, would you take freshers to play the lead roles in your movie? I am interested in acting. Salim Arif > Freshers are not a problem but you need a producer to finance the project. And, for someone like me, who himself is a fresher, it might be difficult to say at the moment. Anu > What are your forthcoming projects? Salim Arif > I have one play lined up, apart from a film. The play would be on Habba Khatoun, the legendary love tale from Kashmir. The play is written by Javed Siddiqui. My film will take a little time. By end of this year it should be on. I am writing dialogues for Kalpana Lajmi's film Kyon . Prince > Films and television have big money. What about theatre? Are people willing to see and invest in theatre as well? What do the audience like to watch? What's the trend? Salim Arif > In Mumbai, especially in theatre, people want to watch comedy mostly, which is understandable. The trend is to create comedies as Gujaratis and English theatre shows, although there are serious plays. It's only in Marathi theatre that, a serious play can become a major hit now. Although, exceptions prove the rule in other languages. Koel > What has been your best performance so far ? Salim Arif > As a director Kharaashein has been my best work till date. Although, in costuming I have a soft corner for "Chanakya", Bharat Ek Khoj and Maachis . Priya > How was it working in Hindi films and with such good directors? Salim Arif > I have worked because of them. People like Shyam Benegal and Gulzar have spoiled me to the extent that it is difficult for me to work with anybody and that is one reason I have been very choosy about my projects in films and TV. Richa > How did you select the cast of Kharaheshein ? Are you going to stage the play in other cities as well? Salim Arif > The actors were known to me for quite sometime. Atul Kulkarni, Yashpal Sharma, Anup Soni are my juniors from NSD, besides being brilliant actors. Kishore Kadam, Ganesh Yadav are old friends and also very good stage actors from Marathi theatre. Vaisahli Thakkar is well known in Gujarati theatre and Lubna has been almost a veteran in Hindi theatre in Mumbai. And lastly, in Shyam Rang where she played Radha and also in Chattrapati Shivaji (on TV) she was doing Jijamata's role. So, I am very fortunate to have such a good team with me. And, they were all more than willing to do this because of the subject and Gulzar sahab's writings. Zombie > Just like the film directors vie for foreign market; do you think Indian theatre should be pushed to have an international screening and audience? Salim Arif > Definitely, and Indian theatre has so much to offer in terms of variety of content and styles. Komal > Does theatre have better actors than films ? I feel some theatre actors are really talented. Salim Arif > Definitely, as in theatre they are practicing their craft on a daily basis and the Riyaz (practise) is very similar to that of a singer or a dancer. That is why, lately, so many good actors have emerged from theatre and graduated into films. Grace_mary > What training is required to become a good theatre actor? Salim Arif > An actor needs to have a role to practice his craft while he may keep his body and mind in a state of readiness in training because, that is his instrument which he has to use in a role. Theatre training would mean a composite awareness and practice of all your faculties. While it may happen naturally to a very few, acting does require a lot of practice. If you compare it with dance and music, a musician or a dancer hesitates to perform on stage even after four to five years of daily Riyaz or practise , while we have actors who think they have become actors by doing a couple of plays. Bhavna > Theatre lacks the masala element as in the case of films. Is this the reason why theatre is not so popular? Salim Arif > You have answered the question. Although the folk theatres of various regions of India has a large dose of all the masalas you associate with Hindi films. It would be interesting for you to know that Hindi films have still not got away from the theatre tradition of Parsi plays of the last century which were a combination of all the nine rasas or a bhel puri kind of a mix of all the emotions put together. But the contemporary urban theater has by way of variety explored subjects and styles, which are not communicated as easily to a layman, as some other popular forms of theatre. Sonyaa > Which are the good foreign plays you've watched? How far is Indian theatre influenced by western theatre? Salim Arif > Last I happened to watch "Irresistible Rise of Arturo Uii" from Berlin Ensemble in Mumbai, which was a memorable production and performance by the lead actor. Foreign theatre has influenced a lot of urban Indian theatre as well as helping some Indian directors find ways of exploring our own folk traditions and evolving a synthesis, i.e for example Vijaya Mehta's and Fritz Bennewitz's production of "Caucasian Chalk Circle" done in Marathi folk form and so many other instances of similar experimentation, largely of using foreign plays and content and adapting it to Indian regions. For instance "Khilaya" is a Gujarati adaptation of famous American musical "Fantastics". Sign Off Message > My current Hindi play, Kharaashein came into being because of the necessity to warn an average Indian from getting influenced by caste considerations. The changing psyche of the common man is my concern in this play. And how he gets blown off losing his sense of reason in that moment of crisis. I would say, let the humans in us survive and then he/she can choose to be a Muslim or a Hindu or a Christian or a Sikh, but not vice versa. Thanks for chatting with me. Bye!!!