Up Close and Personal: The Cast of Urban Turban 2

After breaking down the myth that is the director of Urban Turban 2, we turn our attention to the actual stars of the show: Yudhishthir, Madhuri, Naveen and Aravind join us in a last-ditch effort of finally being serious.

Naveen, Madhuri, TMK, Aravind and Yudi

Q1. If you were called to an awards ceremony, what would you say about your director, Shoosha?

Aravind / SA (pronounced Yessae): The greatest thing about Shoosha the director is his ubiquitous and soft spoken conscience as an actor. I think it’s actually a collective voice of all the pitiable directors he has worked with in the past, reminding him politely of his illusionary acting skills.

Yudhishthir / Yudi: Soosha?? Whoosaat? This award is mine … ALL MINE! My Preciousssssssss … MUHUHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Madhuri: Thank you Shoosha, for making me look good. In fact, standing next to Shoosha makes anyone look good!

Q2. We know a lot of crazy things happen on the sets of Urban Turban 2. Yes, we know. Care to share some?

Seriously, no seriousness.

Yudi: Believe it or not – Rajeev entered the room riding a unicycle with carnival music playing in the background and delivered his entire piece in Shakespearean English. Madhuri did multiple back flips while Soosha whipped Naveen and Yessae and made them jump through rings of fire. Oh and during all this, I did the trapeze with Baggy.

Madhuri: You want to know something besides Baggy demonstrating his incredible skills with fart-boxing? (Like beat-boxing, but even more impressive.)

Ed: Let’s not continue down that path.

Q3. And now, what movie quote would you like to be remembered with?

Naveen: For all the people who keep asking me why I’m still studying law, it’s because Michael Corleone in Godfather 3 said, “finish your law degree …”

Yudi: My name is Bahadur and I am NOT a watchman!

Madhuri: “You are not only genius, you are indigenious.” – DDLJ.

Q4. Tell us something that is seriously wrong about another actor in Urban Turban 2.

SA: I think Madhuri has serious split personality issues between the Mylapore Mami and the Manhattan Mandy. My advice: Mami FTW!

Yudi: Yessae has a machine gun of a mouth. No wonder the birds don’t understand a word he spoke!

Madhuri: I think Yudi is awesome, but I don’t believe that it’s a lucky rabbit’s foot he keeps stroking in his pocket.

Q5. The final question: if you were giving a convocation speech to college students who were just passing out, what would be your parting words?

Yudi: For those who are about to pass out, go easy on the alcohol.

Naveen: I paid 90,000 bucks a year to teach myself how to doodle.

SA: Where did I come from? Where am I to go? Why should I be someone ? When I’m what you know! Let’s go with the flow …

Ed: SA isn’t dreaming this! See:

Taller Tales from the top of his head : Interrogating Shoosha

1. What is Urban Turban and what are you upto with UT2?

Shoosha: In the 8 years of our existence, for the last 3 years especially we have been very selective in picking great stories and performing shows which are very entertaining and wins the audience in the best possible way.Five Point Someone is the best example for that.We realized that we all are living Urban Lives and we have many experiences to share, interesting stories to talk about which are typically drawing room conversations and chit-chat. So we thought about bringing these experiences and stories narrated by common people like us on stage and thats how Urban Turban happened. Literally “Tall Tales From the Top of Our Heads” as we say it.

After the success of Urban Turban we worked towards getting more stories, we did auditions in Chennai and Bangalore to build yet another show Urban Turban 2 with another set of interesting urban tales.

2.What makes the best director according to you? And what kind of director are you?

Shoosha:Well a good director should be crystal clear about what he wants from the show and what he want the actors to do. Also he should be empathetic, there are always cases were the director might not get exactly what he wants in terms of actors and other resources. The actors have ego clashes at times. So the director does the balancing act. He realizes all these limitations and aims at creating the best possible show with what he has. After-all he is the Captain of the Ship. And I keep these as my principles while I am directing.

3. Are you a crazy workaholic!?

Shoosha:Yes I am. I thoroughly enjoy what I do, so I get very much involved with my work. But I am trying to fight it. I try spending more time with my family and have a better work life balance.

4.What is going on in your mind when you are working with a new set of actors? Not too much torture I hope. Is it something like ‘kahan phans gaya yaar ‘ ?

Shoosha: Well, its always little scary while working with new actors. The first few days especially, when they are new to you and you are new them. But you need to know them as people, connect with them. They do bring in certain level of honesty, commitment and trust and you get the best out of them when they are comfortable.

4.Shoosha the director? Or Shoosha the actor? Why?

Shoosha: Director :-> It’s more fun to to tell a story through many people than telling just yours as an actor.

5.Do you think Shoosha’s name will be remembered down in history? As what?

Shoosha: Well I keep myself busy thinking about near future and not distant future, so I haven’t given it a thought. But yes if you have done a good work, if you have done good things people who are are close to you will definitely remember you.

6.If you have the choice of actors from around the globe, what kind of play would you want to direct them in?

Shoosha:The play which I love to do should be fresh in terms of content and not a typical canned entertainment. It should have a great impact on the audience. At the end of the show they should be happy and desperate to share their experiences with their near ones.

I remember when I got the opportunity to watch few plays abroad in UK and US. I saw Lion King which was a musical and few others. After the show I was so happy and amazed with the what I witnessed that I just rushed to buy the official merchandise which was on sale outside the show. But I could get my hands only on the MP3 CD they were selling.

Well I have a mini laptop which doesn’t have a CD drive and I have an iPOD, so basically I could never listen to it conveniently. But the point is you don’t apply all this rationale while buying the CD because you just want to bring whatever possible from the show available at that moment because you got connected to it very well and you loved.

Thats the kind-of impact I would like to create from my show.

And honestly I don’t need the best actors for this. Yes its always good have and work with great actors. But I would always prefer the team to be a mix of good and new or raw talent. You might create something totally new. And as long has you have actors with the right intent and energy you will create a successful show.

7.If Evam were a tomato, what would Shoosha be?

Shoosha : A farmer who sowed the seeds and nurtured it. But the beauty of it is it belongs to the world now.

8.U have to bitch one liners about your cast.

Shoosha :

1. Yudhistir Rana : I wish he could quit his job.
2. Madhuri : You have an ACCENT!!
3. SA aka Aravind) Its FILM not FILIM.
4. Naveen : Its 2011 not 1960s. Grow up!!
5. Rajiv : Every line is NOT a punchline.

9. Lastly a message for Evam Fans on facebook?

Shoosha : I am very excited to present a new and exclusive show to you all. And please come over if you want to meet four interesting personalities telling taller and interesting tales from the top of their heads and enjoy the show.

Interrogated  By : Deeban Chakravarthy

 

On Art…

Evam is back in Banglaore with their earliest production, Art, and there is much excitement happening. We caught up with Jimmy, one of the three protagonists of Art, and asked him about the play.

Us: Old timers at Evam are abuzz about Art happening again. What gives?
Jimmy: At the risk of repeating yourself Art is happening again. The truth is that its been a while since we’ve performed Art and I think there is a collective opinion at evam that it is our classiest play. Also the theatre going audience has increased in the last couple of years and there is a whole bunch of theatre audiences who haven’t seen our version of Art. So that’s what gives.

Us: So what role do you play in Art? 

J: There are 3 friends in the play Mark, Yvan and Serge and a painting. I play Serge. I’ve just bought the painting and thereby set off a chain of reactions that threaten to spiral out of control.

Us: Is that the role you want to play, or do you have your eye on another one in the play?

J: Actually i want to play the role of the painting. Imagine the play would then revolve around me . Actually I’d like to play the role of Yvan. Only because the role is a direct opposite of me in real life and would therefore pose and extremely interesting challenge from an acting perspective.

Us: Funniest goof up you’ve seen happen on stage for Art..

J: Oh there have been several. 2 come to mind immediately. The painting belongs to me and should logically be only in my house. However when there was a scene change to Yvan’s house, the crew forgot to take the painting away, so there it was looking all lost in Yvan’s house. Another was Sunil muffing up his lines. In a long monologue he was tripping all over the words and at some point said something to the effect of “my mother in law swallowed her tongue”. It took a lot of effort to not crack up on stage
Us: Art, the play, in a line…

J: A story that seems funny but has definite complex and interesting undertones

Aand, there you go. That, is A glimpse of Art. Watch this space for more sneak peeks, and of course, if you’re in Bangalore, just head to Rangashankara on the  5th, 6th and 7th of April, or Museum theatre in Chennai on 16th April, to catch the real thing!

‘The 39 Steps’ in Bangalore for Christmas!

Special delivery from St Nicholas, himself!

‘The 39 Steps’ lead to Bangalore! Bring your friends, family, neighbors and pet reindeer.

Celebrate Christmas with us!…and maybe the day after also.

25th and 26th December. Hitchcock is hilarious in Bangalore!!

Seasons greetings and ho ho ho!!

For more information, click here. http://www.indianstage.in/EventDetails.do?eventId=1297

Synopsis Alert!

Harlesden High Street:

Abhishek Majumdar’s play is set on the High Street in Harlesden, an area populated mostly by immigrant communities – Jamaicans, Poles and Pakistanis. Sometimes notorious in the press for its high crime rate, Harlesden is also home to the quiet aspirations and mundane frustrations of the working class. It is here that this play finds breath, in the voices and stories of three Pakistani immigrants – Rehaan, Karim and Ammi. Through the course of a day on Harlesden High Street, we share in the extraordinary histories and circumstances of these seemingly ordinary lives.

The President is Coming:

In March 2006, President Bush made a four-day State visit to India – the first official visit of a U.S. Head of State to the country in a long time. One of his main goals was to meet some young faces responsible for shaping “the new India”. This comedy explores the dog-eat-dog world of constant competition, reality television and short-lived fame. A world where six ambitious Indians will stop at nothing, because The President is Coming.

Fast-paced and extremely funny, the play is a mix of political satire and farce. The slapstick comedy in playwright Anuvab Pal’s script is laced with ironic wit. Staged first in 2006 as part of the Writers’ Bloc Festival in Mumbai, ‘The President is Coming’ has been a huge hit in that city, and since then has travelled to Chennai, Hyderabad and Muscat.

Swami and Friends:

The first novel of R.K. Narayan to gain international fame was Swami and Friends, the story of a young lad named Swami and his escapades with his two close friends, Rajam and Mani. More than anything else, it is a story of friendship and camaraderie. Set in late pre-Independence India in the fictitious town of Malgudi, the novel has delighted both the old and the young with its characterisation and sense of humour. The play is conceived as a seamless narrative, faithful to the novel but adapted and directed with a fresh perspective. It promises to be a delight for the Narayan fan and Narayan novice alike!

One on One:

One on One is a unique theatrical evening, bringing together Mumbai’s finest actors, written by some of India’s most talented playwrights and directed by seven of our best-known directors. These monologues and duologues in English and Hindi address subjects as varied as the state of India’s bureaucracy, the legalization of homosexuality, inedible airline food, the politics of road-naming ceremonies, the joke of Ajmal Kasab’s trial and the experience of living in a big city… stories of modern India that amuse, annoy and concern us all.

Enjoy the Fest,
Team Evam

MPTF- Branching Out!

It all began that one fine day in Chennai. Just about six years old now, The Hindu Metroplus Theatre Fest is venturing out into other cities! Widening the reach, spreading the love for Theatre and promising a festival of sheer dramatic ecstasy!

First in line is Bangalore. Four days, four plays, forever it stays!

Here’s what’s in line for Bangalore-

Meeting Hari!

Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’ was a mega hit on stage, and we are now bringing it back to Bangalore this month- Novemeber 9th, 10th and 11th. Amidst this, we managed to catch up with Sudharshan Krishnan, who plays the role of Hari- the most prominent character in the play. He is now a full-timer at Evam, who is smart, funny, boyishly handsome, and threatens to go on the General Motors diet ever so often. No real success story there. Heeere’s Susa!

Us:  How similar are you to Hari?

Susa: Hari in every scene of the play is either smoking, drinking or making out. Can’t say that is the story of my life..

Us:  Do you think the play does justice to Chetan Bhagat’s book?

Susa: There was a twitter war involving the man. One of his staunch (online) opponents saw the play and told us that it was commendable we’d created something magical on stage from a Chetan Bhagat novel. A little double edged, but a glowing compliment nonetheless..

Us: Tell us a little something about your auditions for the role.

Susa: I don’t remember doing a particularly hot job at the audition. But when the crowd assembled thought I was a ship designer (as against the chip designer I actually was) they all thought I was a very interesting person. That’s all i’m saying..

Us: Which city was the play received at best?

Susa: Chennai! Although Rangashankara comes a close second..

Us: Now that you’re a full-time Evam employee, how much cooler is it than when you were just acting for Evam?

Susa: It was way cooler when I had a geeky day job through the week, and flew out to different cities every weekend for a show..

Us: A little something for the Bangalore audience to look forward to this time?

Susa: Some high energy entertainment..

Us: About that GM diet… EVER going to happen?

Susa: Not while pizza’s a call away..

Told you there was no success story there!

For more details about the play, catch us here- http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132328020123513