A novel act

Actor Tisca Chopra gets talking about her new role as a judge in Star Anchor Hunt

You will be seen on the small screen as a judge for the first time in Star Anchor Hunt. How does it feel to be back on television?
I can’t wait for the Star Anchor Hunt to start. We travelled to many small towns scouting for talent. The contestants were so ambitious and have such a will to make it! After pack-up, we would go for sightseeing. It was a mini-Bharat -darshan.

The overall scene on the small screen has changed since your last stint on television. How do you perceive this change?
I can’t relate to the content in soaps on TV. I love Indian Idol, Comedy Circus and most of the dance shows. But reality TV today is shocking. People will say anything to be on television.

What prompted you to be a judge on Star Anchor Hunt?
I was between films and Star Anchor Hunt gave me an opportunity to travel the country, meet the youth and see what makes them tick. As an actor, it’s great to be deeply connected to real people from different cities and small towns all over India and to hear their stories. TV is a great medium to reach the vast population of this country. Its popularity is huge, beyond our imagination.

We have heard that you have also been a news anchor. Is it true?
No, I haven’t been a news anchor, but I am trying to convince the channel to send me on a special assignment to Afghanistan or if they need an interview with United States President Barack Obama. Now that would be fun!

What qualities will you be looking at in a contestant to be a good anchor?
They should have an ability to respond to rapidly- changing scenarios or be quick enough to think on their feet. They should also have a keen insight into world affairs and a decent appearance.

How will the anchors selected by Star Anchor Hunt be different from their competitors?
They will be different from their contemporaries because the process is different. This is the first time you’ll see anchors selected for the job, not just people who landed up reading the news. These will be anchors who have had rigorous training and they are not just anchors but also journalists. There isn’t a single anchor hunt across news channels. Star Anchor Hunt is a pioneer. And this would be a treat for those looking to see some real talent emerge out of the newsroom.

Can you recall any funny incident that occured during the auditions?
An over-confident contestant challenged the channel and our judgement. The comments had to be heard to be believed. We laughed so much that the shooting had to be stalled. If Star News shows all the footage, the show will have the highest TRPs ever!
Journalist Deepak Chaurasia is known for his serious image. But in this show, people can see him in a completely different light. You will see him fall off his chair laughing.

Apart from the concept, how will Star Anchor Hunt be different from other reality shows?
you have Chetan Bhagat, Deepak Chaurasia and me as judges. Also the two winners will get actual jobs with the channel and start a new career. This is on the lines of The Apprentice. I hope the winners will be the new face of Indian news.

Are you keen on participating or anchoring any reality shows?
If they get Meryl Streep, Leonardo Di Caprio and Johnny Depp, as house-mates on Big Boss, I will definitely be a part of the show! As for compering, I’d love to do a Koffee With Karan, host a chat show or do an Indian Idol.

You were last seen on the big screen in Firaaq. Why is there such a long gap between the movies?
The tragedy of an actor’s life is that they have no control over the film after their work is over. If I had my way, I’d release them the Friday after shooting got over. I have finished three films back- to-back between 2009 and now, but you’ll have to ask the producers when they will come out.

What are your forthcoming films?
Rangeen is my first comedy and an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I have a lovely role in it. 404 is a psychological thriller that also deals with bi-polar disorder. I play a professor who is also a psychiatrist. Khushiyaan is a Punjabi film set in New York and Punjab. I play an NRI who returns to India to discover love and her family. I also have a guest appearance in Vinay Shukla’s Mirch that takes a satirical look at relationships between men and woman.

You were also writing a script. How far has that progressed?
It hasn’t progressed at all. Every time I sit down to write, a shoot comes up and I trot off. Coming back and restarting is hard. But I’ll finish it soon. Basically writing is like a husband, whom you take for granted. Acting’s like a lover, I wait for it and chase it. (Smiles).

You have worked in theatre, films and television. What has been your favourite medium?

Films are like miniature paintings. I love the detailed work that one can do in movies like changing your physical appearance or the voice to suit the character.

Television is like big strokes of whitewash. A giant monster waits for four episodes each week; it has to be fed, at the cost of quality sometimes.

Theatre is just a necessity for actors. It helps an artiste chisel his craft in an exacting manner with immediate results. You know right away if you have connected with the audience or not.

All for peace

Seven kids save the future in The Mighty Mirembayanna & The Prisoners Of Peace, Thespo’s first production for children

This summer, kids get a chance to learn something new and save the world at large in a futuristic play in Thespo’s first production for children, The Mighty Mirembayanna & The Prisoners Of Peace. The year is 2122 and the war has struck mayhem in the world, but the only thing that is keeping people safe in the land of Bragi is the The Mighty Mirembayanna tree. Things start going awry when the tree starts dying and the government is adopting desperate measures to maintain peace in the country. How the kids save the tree, maintain peace in Bragi and keep war at bay forms the crux of the play.

Written by Akash Mohimen and directed by Abhishek Saha, the play is the culmination of a four-week workshop, Dramabaazi, organised by Thespo, a youth theatre initiative. It opened on June 1 at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai. This is the first time Thespo has undertaken an activity for the under-15 age-group.
Quasar Padamsee, the brainchild behind Thespo, says, “Thespo has always been about nurturing new talent. The process of introducing and sharing the magical world of live performance with the kids was a great opportunity. We were apprehensive at first, but our real heroes turned out to be the children. This full scale production has been driven by them, with guidance from Abhishek, who is brilliant at getting the kids to open up and discover themselves.”

The biggest challenge that Abhishek and his team faced initially was to zero in on a script for the play. They read a lot of scripts, independent stories, dabbled with the idea of merging two-three stories and transforming it into a play, but nothing was working right. Finally, they decided to come up with an original concept.

“I had done a 20-minute play for schoolkids in Ahmedabad some time ago. After I narrated the story to the team, everyone liked it. Akash was roped in to flesh out the idea and turn it into a full-fledged play. Though he started writing it with that project in mind, The Mighty Mirembayanna & The Prisoners Of Peace is very different from the initial idea,” says Abhishek with a smile.

Akash, who has earlier written scripts for short films, was penning a play for the first time. He attended the workshop for a few days to understand how kids think and to get a better idea about their vocabulary. “Today, kids have a higher intellectual capacity than what we had as children. They are exposed to different types of media and a lot of fantasy like the Harry Potter and Twilight series. So I had to understand how they think and would react to a particular situation.”

After Akash got an insight into their psyche and personality, he got down to writing the play. “I wrote the play from the point of view of a 15-year-old. I went back to my childhood days and thought about my fantasies and the various social themes that excited me. It was also challenging as writing for a play is different compared to a short film. A play is more dialogue-heavy and you have to tell the story through each character,” he adds.

After the script was ready, it was time to select the kids and train them accordingly. According to Abhishek, 12 kids attended the workshop and finally seven were selected since they were free at that time. “The youngest member is nine years while the oldest member is 16 years. It was interesting as well as challenging to condition their minds and make them think like their characters. I also insisted that they learn the dialogues because it is difficult to perform as long as they are holding the script,” explains Abhishek.

Apart from these processes, the director also ensured that his assistants, who also play supporting roles in the play, mentored the children. “This was done primarily because theatre is a group activity. It was important that a bond is formed within the group. Two kids were assigned to each adult so that they could discuss their apprehensions and seek proper guidance from their mentors,” elaborates Abhishek.
The writer and director are happy with the final outcome and are glad to entertain the kids at large. As Abhishek says, “The underlying theme of the play is how kids come up with a solution for the most difficult problems through their innocence.”