Suchitra Krishnamoorthi On Performing Ek Haan: Manto Is The Most Important Writer Of The Era| Exclusive

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi is one who possesses a plethora of talents. From sweeping our feet off the floor with her talent and beauty in ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’, to showcasing her acting and singing prowess over the years- she definitely knows how to keep her fans entertained. The actress has always been open about her innate love for theatre and that holds- she will soon be sharing the stage with Shekar Suman at the Delhi Theatre Festival.

In an exclusive conversation with News18, the actress talks about her journey so far, her love for theatre, her understanding of Saadat Hasan Manto and much more-

Excerpts from the interview-

You have aced it both in films and in theatre, how has the journey been so far?

Well you know ups and downs and you know as a performer, I like to do things that kind of stir me in a certain way than pushing me towards chasing for fame or success. In that case, I have been successful in theatre for sure, in terms of films I am waiting for something nice to come my way, better than the regular mother stuff that does come my way. But I have done some interesting stuff and I am thoroughly happy about it.

Looking back what was it about theatre that struck a chord in your heart, do you still resonate with the same old feeling or have your thoughts changed?

I was doing theatre as a kid as well, for me theatre has always been like home and when I started seeing it as my workspace the same emotion struck me. Theatre is where a lot of people start off and I did too. It is an area where I think I can create things for myself, as opposed to let’s say if I had to produce a movie or a show for myself- that would be very difficult.

The world of theatre in a way has always been approachable and inclusive, as a performer, do you still think it to be the same way? You mentioned you were doing theatre as a kid too, what was it like for you when you first started?

Earlier the commercials in the theatre were terrible but now I would say the commercials are pretty good even after the rise of OTT and you know shows on the internet. A lot of people still think that there is no money in theatre. In whatever I do my endeavour is to make it a commercially viable job for everyone starting from those on the stage to even those who are working behind the stage making it all happen.

A post shared by Delhi Theatre Festival (@delhitheatrefestival)

Can you talk a little about Ek Haan that you’ll be staging at Delhi Theatre Festival?

When I was offered Ek Haan, I started laughing because my Hindi is so bad, forget Urdu. So I asked the director ‘Why did you think of me’ and it was very daunting for me because I did not think I could learn the language. Urdu is so beautiful and you need to speak it correctly, so I had to put in a lot of effort which now I feel is worth it. The language was a challenge for me in Ek Haan for sure.

Were you always someone who had an innate love for Manto’s works? How did you get introduced to his works and what are your thoughts on performing Ek Haan?

I got introduced to his work through Literature, books and short stories primarily and later when I got into this play what I understood is that it is so stunning – the depth of his thinking and I think Manto is the most important writer of the era. He is the one who wrote about and lived in both the pre and post-Independence times. He is an extremely important writer because of the way he had recorded the torment of partition, l would say he reported him with his own emotion and language, otherwise, we would be unaware of so much. He is not just a great author but he has captured incidents for posterity that a lot of people would not have known about if not for him.

 You are of course multi-talented, what is next for you in line?

I have a project coming out on OTT which we will be announcing very soon and I am also on the verge of announcing a few other projects and will be touring with my band and that is something I am very excited about because music shows are something I have not done in a while and am looking forward to it.