This Thing called Life

Chanakya Vyas is fascinated by, well by nearly everything. Technology, writing, history and one's place in it, filmmaking, the rehearsal process, Sunil Shanbag's archives and generally, this thing called Life. Read on to know why all of this is true, and why the play Jhund is on the list.

You imagined this play at a very different time. And on invitation from Ranga Shankara for their festival. Can you recall why you settled on this story to tell?

I read the English translation of Slawomir Mrozek's short play Striptease, which my play is inspired by, as part of a reading series I did in 2017-18. Striptease is a play about an intellectual and an activist who - while trying to escape a life-threatening situation - find themselves locked in a mysterious room. The plot revolves around them trying to figure their way out. It deals with ideas like inside-outside, authority, freedom of choice etc. Written in the 70s in Poland - which was under the communist regime - the play is funny and perfectly encapsulates the experience of being trapped inside, while one has a choice to step outside yet does not do so out of fear.

This is something we had seen and experienced a lot during COVID. So all of this put together is what excited me about the play. Also, I wanted to return to the theatre with a comedy and make people laugh.

While we were working on this idea, I was also reading a Gujarati short story titled Todu (translated as Crowd), written by Ghanshyam Desai which is narrated in the third person and looks at how a crowd is controlled and manipulated by the voice of an unseen force and the crowd keeps following the instructions without ever questioning the authority. It's an absurd story and come to think of it, it was written roughly around the same time as Striptease. It was also the time when vernacular literature was exploring absurd writing, influenced by the likes of Beckett, Ionesco, Camus etc.

Absurd? Me? (L-R: Ashwini Kumar Chakre, Vivek Vijayakumaran)

I know I am drifting but I find all this very fascinating. It makes you realize that your work is a part of a continuing tradition, a certain period in history. This also led to exploring the idea of a crowd (bheed) and a herd (jhund) and how social media has exacerbated this herd mentality, i.e. - it's even more difficult for people today to have opinions that are different from those of the crowd or the herd.

So this play is build on two different sources, but rises above both to become its own story. Are there any conscious decisions/choices you have to make in order to arrive at a text that is inspired but not derived? It feels impossibly difficult to me.

Talking about history, around the time I was toying with the idea of working on this play, I had reached out to Sunil Shanbag and told him about the idea. And that's when he told me that they had done a Hindi version of Striptease in the 80s in Mumbai, which was translated by Ashok Mishra. And he actually found a scanned copy of the handwritten script. Thank God for Sunil and his impeccable archives!

I read it and it was wonderfully translated. I spoke to Ashok sir and asked him if we could use the version for our production and he was very kind to let us do so. However, as we entered the rehearsals, I knew that it was a short play and wouldn't go beyond 30 minutes. So, I started developing a new idea based on the play and the short story which led to exploring a completely new idea - the world of apps, technology, data protection, privacy... And I knew I had found my jam.

I love exploring the relationship between humans and technology and the idea of unseen control, authority...Once I had anchored it in this new world, every other aspect fell into place. The play took a new shape - neither purely the Mrozek version nor was it purely the short story one. It was a weird mix with a large part of it still being drawn from Mrozek's play in terms of the overall structure and some of the key arguments from the story. From then on, the actors started devising the text and I would go back and write new scenes every day. By the end of it, it was part devised, part inspired and part original writing. But the core idea, the central argument that we were making, remained intact.

How did you cast for this play? You have known both Ashwini and Vivek for years, so did you write dialogue with them in mind?

I had reached out to them with the idea after Ranga Shankara commissioned us (Indian Enemble) to make the play. We did a couple of readings of the text, and they both came on board. The three of us had started working in the theatre around the same time, so it was like friends coming together.

So when we started devising and I would go back and write every day, I would always keep them in mind. Though both of them are comfortable in Hindi, the running joke was to always keep the more complex Hindi lines for Ashwini, but as fate would have it and the script developed further, Vivek ended up having complex Hindi words to wrestle with as well.

Thinking of it now, the rehearsals were great fun and we had a great team on board. It was a great way to get back to rehearsals, especially after lockdown.

I don't imagine you being able to hang out with either of the people in the play. Firstly, is that true? What's it like to write characters you don't like at all?

Well, in this play, I would love to hang out with both of them. The point about writing characters you dislike is that you have to see them from a 360-degree perspective. Like, in this play, I often disliked the intellectual because of his inability to take action and theorize every damn thing. However, as the play progresses, you also see a different side of him and the other character that I adored turns out darker and selfish compared to his earlier image in the play.

In one of my other plays - Algorithms - there was a character whom I hated and tried to put every negative quality in him but as I stayed with him, I started to see his other facets as well. Discovering that shift in your character is the most fulfilling part of the writing process.

Is this your longest-running play? It seems to get regular outings since its opening in 2021. What do you attribute this to?

Yes, it is. And I am glad that the actors have managed to stay connected to the play and made all the effort to keep it alive. I attribute it to the actors who want to continue performing this play, they are continually inspired to take this to different audiences and spaces.

I also think that a play - any play - needs a minimum of 15 shows for it to stand on its feet, find new audiences and for it to register in people's memory. It's like if I see listings of a particular play in a newspaper or Bookmyshow every two months, then I know that this is a play that's running consistently and that it might be worth giving it a shot or if there's word-of-mouth publicity around it, then it continues to stay alive.

Special thanks to Our Theatre Collective, Vivek, Ashwini and Ankit (production manager) for ensuring the play continues to travel. And I am so glad that it's coming to Mumbai finally.

And you've left the play, in a manner of speaking. You don't attend rehearsal any more, or shows. Would you be okay to tell us how this happened? And how it feels now to see the poster of shows? Are you tempted to watch a show again? And then will you give the actors notes?

Last year, after I moved to Mumbai, I knew that I wouldn't be able to run the play that regularly or be a part of rehearsals etc, as both the actors are based in Bangalore. Also, the play was originally produced under the banner of Indian Ensemble and I was no longer the Artistic Director of that company. So it just made sense for Our Theatre Collective to take on the play and run with it further.

I do miss being a part of the tours and rehearsals but it feels equally great to see the actors taking it ahead. How often does that happen?

I am very tempted to watch a show again sitting quietly in a corner without letting the actors know. Well, of course, how can a director resist the urge to not give notes? I will still give them notes even if they wish to ignore it. :-)

Speaking of changes, you have also dived headfirst into filmmaking. It's not unusual for theatre folk to be lured by celluloid. But what was it for you, personally?

It's not been easy and I have no qualms in admitting, that even now the community I feel closer to is the theatre community. Last year was quite challenging with me pitching ideas and working on story outlines to pitch to studios, producers etc. But this year has started on a good note and I am currently working on a new short film which I have written and will also be directing, as part of a commissioned project.

It is rare to find a sense of community in the film industry but gradually, I have now found some good friends there as well whom I can rely on, seek help from and vent to. Also, after diving into filmmaking, I have started to discover so many aspects of theatre that are fascinating, which I couldn't see earlier.

Do you ever imagine a filmed version of Jhund? Or another play of yours? Where you can marry these two worlds and like, with the script for Jhund, emerge with something entirely new and exciting?

Well, funnily, at one point Ashwini, Vivek and I were toying with that idea and we had also found a space for it - it was an under-construction theatre auditorium which would have been a great setting for the play. But then you know how it is... These things fizzle away with time.

I would love to make Algorithms into a film or a web series. Everyone who has watched that play has said that it would work very well as a film. But there's something that's even more exciting about finding an amalgamation of theatre and film where both these forms can speak to each other and something new can emerge. I remember talking to Preetam Koilpillai once about it and he told me about this film called Iberia by Carlos Saura, which is a film on dance and explores both the mediums in a wonderful manner.

Okay now back to the play. Three reasons why someone should watch Jhund?

Great actors, funny text, and is super relevant to our times. It’s also just an hour long!

And finally, what's next for you? Theatre? Film? Other things?

I plan to direct a play in the latter half of this year - a play I have been sitting on for very long. We are currently in the pre-production stages of a short film which I have written and will be directing and we go on the floor in less than three weeks from now! Very excited, thankful and glad to be living this life! Plus there's some writing work going on for other projects and in between, hoping to catch up with this thing called LIFE.

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Feb 13 and 14 | 8pm

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About the piece: Jhund is a dark comedy in Hindi, blending satire and absurdity to explore submission, freedom, and rebellion. Inspired by Slawomir Mrozek’s play Striptease and Ghanshyam Desai’s short story Crowd, the play premiered at the prestigious Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2021 and was later featured in Serendipity’s Out and About Festival 2024. With its sharp script and captivating performances, Jhund delves into contemporary issues through humor and thought-provoking narratives, earning acclaim for its unique approach to storytelling.