★ I don’t understand how films like Dabangg work: Ranjit Kapoor !!
Anybody who loves theatre knows Ranjit Kapoor, the director of well-known plays such as Hum Rahe Na Hum, Woyzech and Sher Afghan. Also a respected dialogue writer in films (Khamosh, Bandit Queen, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro to name just three), the 63-year-old Sangeet Natak Akademi winner now works as a freelance director across the country. His play, Chekov Ki Duniya, was performed at the summer theatre festival in the Capital. The play is based on six short stories by the master Russian writer. In an exclusive interview with TOI, Kapoor spoke about the theatre scene in the country and much more.
Why do you think that cinema halls attract more audiences vis-a-vis theatre?
Cinema is very realistic. A jungle scene needs to be shot in a jungle, whereas in a play, we influence the minds of the audience through lighting effects and acting. In theatre people have a sense of taste and quality, Woh log kachra nahi dekh sakte(They can’t see rotten stuff). I don’t understand how a film, like Dabangg, works so well. The theatre-going audiences won’t like such films.
