Prastuti Parashar: The Actress and Proprietor who Prefers Mobile Theatre for its Mass Appeal

How would you describe yourself?

I was born in Jorhat and I had to grow up quite independently, ever since I was a child. I am the daughter to Bijoy Chandra Sharma and Bijoya Sharma. My father retired as a principal from Jorhat JB College. I started my schooling in Jorhat's Ballya Bhaban. I graduated from Jorhat JB College. Then I completed my masters from Commerce College, Guwahati.

At the age of 5, I started doing amateur dramas. My parents inculcated in me the capability to do my own work by myself, ever since I was a child. And the answer to 'Who am I?" depends a lot on these ideals which my parents implanted in me. So basically that's all who I am.

Please relate to us your journey in acting for theatre and films.

After working as a child artist in amateur dramas for a long time, I started associating with full-fledged dramas at the age of Class 7 or 8. I was quite active during my school days. I tried to involve myself in every aspect of academic and co-curricular activities. From sports to dance, I used to take part in everything. Gradually as I moved on ahead with my life, I carried along the love for drama and performance with me. While I was undergoing my TDC studies I underwent a shift from drama to films as I was cast for the first time in a film. The name of the movie was "Maharathi" which was released in the year 1999. Prior to this movie break, I was working in a serial called "Bornali" which was aired in Doordarshan. Satellite channels did not exist back then.

I associated myself with Theatre for the first time in the year 2005, when I joined Shakuntala Theatre. Subsequently I worked back to back for four years with Kohinoor Theatre, Bordoisila Theatre, and Bhagyadevi Theatre. Then I took a break and joined Hengool Theatre after my comeback. It was followed by Rajtilak Theatre. I took another break and then joined Awahon Theatre. Currently it is my 6th year with Awahon Theatre. For three years, I worked under the parent producer Krishna Roy. In the year 2019, I took over myself and presently I am a producer for Awahon Theatre. I currently work with Awahon Theatre as the proprieator along with the main artist.

I had great memorable experiences with all the theatres that I have worked with. I believe in doing things the right way from my side. When you do things the right way, the atmosphere around becomes convenient for you. It all depends on you. I believe in doing things sincerely in whatever I am involved in.

Some of your most memorable experiences

In the second year of my involvement with theatre, which was in the session 2006-2007, I was associated with Kohinoor Theatre. I was doing a double role in the play, "Hanto Histo Dusto Suwali". Those were the times when inclusion of double roles in theatres was quite new. Performing double roles in a movie is easy as the technicalities give you a window to manage the shift. Compared to it, performing a double role in a play is much tougher. Ever since then, I started taking up and receiving more female protagonist roles in female centric plays. Subsequently almost all of the plays that I took upon back to back in a year after Kohinoor Theatre were always female oriented and I played the role of the female protagonist. The characters which I play are presented in a way where she is either mentally strong or physically very strong. I performed in this play called Moharani with Rajtilak Theatre. A very strong character was portrayed in Moharani and the way she was dealing with the entire crisis in her life. That play was a big hit. After doing that play, I made it a habit to interact with the audience every time I perform that play somewhere. I ask their views and perspectives on the play. Unlike other artists, I use the time for break to interact with the audience and seek their feedback instead of resting. I learned one thing from all those interactions that all the girls who come to watch the play feel very empowered after watching the play. A girl once said to me that she came on a scooty to watch the play. She said that before watching the play, she was gripped with the fear of going to watch the play at night alone. However, after watching the play she expressed that she did not feel that kind of fear anymore. This I belief is a very positive change.

We talk about women empowerment and we have been working for it immensely. In the same context, I try to contribute to women empowerment through my roles and performance. So this is one of the best experiences that I have had with theatre.

Does mobile theatre in Assam pay well?

Yes, theatre is one of the rarest cultural mediums in Assam which is financially viable. In each theatre there are about 150 people who are employed. Theatre is thus fulfilling the criteria of employment to quite an extent in Assam. This is not the same with Cinema, as the film industry in Assam constantly experiences ups and downs. I was working in Cinema for a long time too. However, I don't find anything sustainable from the movies. Whatever I have done and achieved, I have done it with my theatre earnings.

Theatre goes deep into the villages and tries to connect with the grassroots people. From its onset, there has been a craze for theatre among the Assamese people and I believe this craze will last forever. The craft of live performance will always sustain. Moreover theatres in Assam have been gradually but majorly improving. They are developing technology wise too. Thus theatre has been fulfilling a social responsibility as well as providing financial settlement to many. So the entire cast of various theatres, the technical team and production crew has been depending on theatre for financial sustainability for a long time.

How would you describe the key changes in theatre?

Theatre depends on the society and the social structure. The ideals and perspectives that prevail in the society at a given point of time eventually bring in changes in the theatre. Since it is a commercial medium on which the livelihood of people depends on, we have to keep up with the societal structure to meet these needs. So it all depends on the social changes. In the same way how society experiences various changes from time to time, theatre undergoes change with time and society. Like I have mentioned earlier there have been technical changes too. Just like in films we try to compare a big budget film with the Bollywood, I believe Bhramyaman Theatre from Assam is no way less to theatres outside Assam. From demonstrating the Titanic, to planes to bomb blasts, lately everything has been possible in the theatres. In spite of the infrastructural limitations, the technical changes have been very impactful. If we look at some International shows which are presented with full-fledged setups that are inclusive of a fixed auditorium, we will immediately realize the development that the theatres of our place are bringing in. Our setups are temporary which needs to be moved every three day.

What is your view on the future of theatre?

I won't comment on the technical future as it is unpredictable. However, in terms of plays, I would like to say that there was a phase when plays presented a lot of social crisis and issues. Then came in a phase when the commercial plays were in trend which included songs and dance. Now we are back to the original structure that includes plots of social issues and messages to the society. The present generation is quite conscious and they thrive for the original things. They seek reality and the real picture. This has impacted changes in the theatre in terms of acting pattern. We are giving more importance to natural acting and walking away from the previous melodramatic take. The usual forum and pristine structure will be there from time to time. However, along with everything, a wave of realism is influencing the present day theatre and it is a plus point. Content and Story line up is getting more priority than the other ornamental things.

Do you have any suggestions for upcoming artistes?

There is no shortcut to success. One will attain success if they do their work with dedication and perseverance. However, one has to be very patient for it. And they have to believe in themselves. We all say that we believe in ourselves but don't put in the required amount of work. Only when we dedicate 100 percentage of our hard work, things are likely to work out.

What are the challenges faced by a theatre artist?

There are numerous challenges. Since it is a temporary medium, there are a lot of structural challenges. In addition, it is a continuous process. We are involved for nine months in one theatre group. During those 9 months, everyone has to adhere to just one line, "The show must goes on, irrespective of what situation arises". So putting these criteria in front is one of the biggest challenges for every person involved in theatre. For this one has to be very self-conscious. For example, we don't have the option of hurting our leg and taking a bed rest in our home for some time. Thus, this along with the daily performances demands a great deal of mental power from us. There is no rest. There are days when we even perform 4 shows in one single day, which is 12 hours of work for every single person involved in theatre.

Will there be any clashes between theatre and film or art forms like Bhaona?

If you segregate these three art forms, Bhramyaman Theatre, Bhaona and Film, these three mediums are very different. We have specific audience for the three different mediums and some are an audience to all or more than one of them. Bhaona is a completely different aspect of art from Assam. It is ingrained in our roots. There was a time when Bhaona was disappearing from some places of Assam but is now being revived in those places. When young generations get attracted to any form of craft, that craft starts flourishing again. A section of our young generation is quite conscious like I have mentioned earlier and they are attracted to our roots. I feel very encouraged from them. In terms of theatre, theatre has been constant for a long time. So I believe cinema won't ever be impacted by theatre or an art form like Bhaona. Cinema will get impacted only when films start performing poorly. So these three art forms have to work and flourish in their own lanes.

How did you cope during Covid-19 pandemic?

The first year when I took over the theatre in 2019, Covid-19 pandemic came in. However, since I have always been a very strong person, I had the courage to face it even as a producer who just started out. I have a family and my husband is a working person. So my family did not face much difficulty even when theatres were shut down. However, the people who were working under me had to face various difficulties. I had to find alternate ways to employ them. There are people who have been working in the theatre for 20-30 years. These people could not find alternate ways to earn money. These ground level people were the ones who faced the most difficulty. So during the session 2020-2021 I decided to continue the theatres in some way or the other. For this I continued the rehearsals in the month of September which is usually done in July-August. And after maintaining every Covid protocol we continued the rehearsals and continued the theatres the following year. In this way, I was at least able to provide salary to the people working under me.

Awards you have won.

I prefer the audience's feedbacks much more than other awards that I receive. My audience's reactions and feedbacks are the best award of my life. My foremost satisfaction and encouragement comes from my audience's reaction. In terms of awards, I have received back to back Best Actress Award in Bhramyaman Theatre many times. In terms of films, I have received the Best Actor Award under the State Awards for my role in the film 'Gun Gun Gane Gane'. I have also received the Best Actress Award in the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival. Apart from these I have received quite many awards from various organizations and programmes.

Upcoming projects

I am currently involved in Theatre. And since I am working as the proprietor now, I am working in a hectic manner. And the two and a half month gap that I get, I like to spend that time with my family. In the first year of me starting as a producer, I did Mulagabhoru. I believe theatre is a good medium to communicate to the mass about people like Mulagabhoru. I did Joymoti last year. Currently I am working on a story which is related to the 1942 freedom fighters to mark the 75th year of India's independence.

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