Relative value: In the act
Rohini, 63, and Aseem Hattangady, 31
Actors Rohini and Aseem Hattangady on how theatre remains in their subconscious and balancing the mother-son equation on stage.
Theatre actor Aseem Hattangady was only six years old when he was initiated into his parents', Rohini and Jaydev’s acting professions. “We had to tell him. He came crying home one day, because kids in the building were teasing him that his mother is a ‘bhoot’,” laughs Rohini, as she throws a glance at her 31-year-old son seated next to her, at their Bandra apartment.
It was an early lesson, but much of theatre and acting was ingrained in the actor, known for his performances in plays like Mamtaz Bhai Patang Wale and The Bureaucrat, “subconsciously”. “I was in class VII when I watched Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal, and class VIII when I saw Ratan Thiyam’s Chakravyuha, which blew my mind. I didn’t understand the aesthetics, but they were doing martial arts and there was sparks on stage,” he says. “Today, I can put that in context, but back then I couldn’t conceptualise, I was just picking up. It went into my subconscious bearing.”
Rohini, whose father (Anant Oak) was a theatre director in Pune, can certainly relate. “Yet, when we would advise him to work in Awishkar’s children’s plays, he hardly ever showed any interest,” says the actress, who ran a theatre production, Kalashray, along with her husband.
Aseem’s break was more of a chanced one, we learn. “I was in college when theatre formally happened. There was this one director who came up to me and said in Marathi, ‘Tu natak karto ka? Stagewar ubha rahasheel?’ It’s literal translation is to stand. I thought they’ll make me a sentry, but I ended up acting in the play and enjoyed it,” says Aseem. “But I actually took up the play because I wanted to bunk classes.”
The experience encouraged Aseem to take up acting more seriously. “When he told us that he would like to be part of theatre, my husband told him ‘if you want to do theatre, then first work backstage’,” shares Rohini. “So he worked backstage on plays like Aprajita, Wada Chirebandi and several other productions.”
Following in his parents’ footsteps, Aseem aspired to pursue a course in theatre at Delhi’s National School of Drama, but the son of the distinguished alumni was rejected. “I was fresh out of college and had little experience in acting,” reasons Aseem. “It came as a small blow, but I guess people on the selection panel had their reasons.”
Rohini, on the other hand, took the rejection less lightly.“Honestly, I was very upset for two days,” she says. “I was made to understand that children of alumni are given preference. But his application was rejected. And we didn’t want to speak to the NSD director, because if he was not getting in on the basis of his merit, then there was no point in pushing.”
Aseem took up a course at Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India. It was only after he completed his formal training in 2006, that he acted in Badal Sircar’s Evam Indrajit, directed by his father. The play was wellreceived, and they hoped to stage several productions together. But the following year, Jaydev was diagnosed with cancer. Rohini on her husband’s suggestion continued to work on daily television soaps, Betiyaan and Char Divas Sasuche. “Commitment was commitment. Besides, somebody had to work. There were hospital bills to pay,” says Aseem, candidly.
“In a sense, it was good that I didn’t get much work then because somebody had to be there. I call it a divine ploy. Though it was a crisis, it was managed well.”
Before he succumbed to the terminal illness, Jaydev hoped to stage Ramdas Bhatkal’s Jagadamba, based on the life of Kasturba Gandhi, a role that got Rohini a BAFTA for her portrayal in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.
The play was put in the backburner. “It was Kakade kaka who wanted to stage the play on Jaydev’s first death anniversary,” says Rohini. “But I couldn’t go beyond the first three pages of the play that Jaydev discussed with me. So, I involved Aseem.”
Aseem suggested that the play should explore the relationship Kasturba shared with her sons Harilal and Manilal. And the two collaborated on the play.
At the rehearsals, she was Rohiniji/ma’am. “It’s something I have picked up from my parents because I saw them following a certain theatre decorum while working where they were not each other’s husband and wife, but coactors,” says Aseem. “Public display of family affairs is annoying anywhere, why just restrict it to the stage?”
Actors Rohini and Aseem Hattangady on how theatre remains in their subconscious and balancing the mother-son equation on stage.
Theatre actor Aseem Hattangady was only six years old when he was initiated into his parents', Rohini and Jaydev’s acting professions. “We had to tell him. He came crying home one day, because kids in the building were teasing him that his mother is a ‘bhoot’,” laughs Rohini, as she throws a glance at her 31-year-old son seated next to her, at their Bandra apartment.
The 63-year-old veteran, much feted for her path breaking role in Saaransh (1984), is referring to the funny scene in the 1989-film Chaalbaaz, where her step-daughter in the movie, Sridevi, applies garish makeup on her face. “My husband and I sat him down and explained, ‘we essay roles and we are not the characters we play’,” she shares. “To make things clears, we even got the VHS of Chaalbaaz and invited all the kids from the colony to watch it with us. When the scene came on, Aseem got up and yelped, ‘meri mummy bhoot nahi hai, woh uska role hai!’”
It was an early lesson, but much of theatre and acting was ingrained in the actor, known for his performances in plays like Mamtaz Bhai Patang Wale and The Bureaucrat, “subconsciously”. “I was in class VII when I watched Vijay Tendulkar’s Ghashiram Kotwal, and class VIII when I saw Ratan Thiyam’s Chakravyuha, which blew my mind. I didn’t understand the aesthetics, but they were doing martial arts and there was sparks on stage,” he says. “Today, I can put that in context, but back then I couldn’t conceptualise, I was just picking up. It went into my subconscious bearing.”
Rohini, whose father (Anant Oak) was a theatre director in Pune, can certainly relate. “Yet, when we would advise him to work in Awishkar’s children’s plays, he hardly ever showed any interest,” says the actress, who ran a theatre production, Kalashray, along with her husband.
Aseem’s break was more of a chanced one, we learn. “I was in college when theatre formally happened. There was this one director who came up to me and said in Marathi, ‘Tu natak karto ka? Stagewar ubha rahasheel?’ It’s literal translation is to stand. I thought they’ll make me a sentry, but I ended up acting in the play and enjoyed it,” says Aseem. “But I actually took up the play because I wanted to bunk classes.”
The experience encouraged Aseem to take up acting more seriously. “When he told us that he would like to be part of theatre, my husband told him ‘if you want to do theatre, then first work backstage’,” shares Rohini. “So he worked backstage on plays like Aprajita, Wada Chirebandi and several other productions.”
Following in his parents’ footsteps, Aseem aspired to pursue a course in theatre at Delhi’s National School of Drama, but the son of the distinguished alumni was rejected. “I was fresh out of college and had little experience in acting,” reasons Aseem. “It came as a small blow, but I guess people on the selection panel had their reasons.”
Rohini, on the other hand, took the rejection less lightly.“Honestly, I was very upset for two days,” she says. “I was made to understand that children of alumni are given preference. But his application was rejected. And we didn’t want to speak to the NSD director, because if he was not getting in on the basis of his merit, then there was no point in pushing.”
Aseem took up a course at Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India. It was only after he completed his formal training in 2006, that he acted in Badal Sircar’s Evam Indrajit, directed by his father. The play was wellreceived, and they hoped to stage several productions together. But the following year, Jaydev was diagnosed with cancer. Rohini on her husband’s suggestion continued to work on daily television soaps, Betiyaan and Char Divas Sasuche. “Commitment was commitment. Besides, somebody had to work. There were hospital bills to pay,” says Aseem, candidly.
“In a sense, it was good that I didn’t get much work then because somebody had to be there. I call it a divine ploy. Though it was a crisis, it was managed well.”
Before he succumbed to the terminal illness, Jaydev hoped to stage Ramdas Bhatkal’s Jagadamba, based on the life of Kasturba Gandhi, a role that got Rohini a BAFTA for her portrayal in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi.
The play was put in the backburner. “It was Kakade kaka who wanted to stage the play on Jaydev’s first death anniversary,” says Rohini. “But I couldn’t go beyond the first three pages of the play that Jaydev discussed with me. So, I involved Aseem.”
Aseem suggested that the play should explore the relationship Kasturba shared with her sons Harilal and Manilal. And the two collaborated on the play.
At the rehearsals, she was Rohiniji/ma’am. “It’s something I have picked up from my parents because I saw them following a certain theatre decorum while working where they were not each other’s husband and wife, but coactors,” says Aseem. “Public display of family affairs is annoying anywhere, why just restrict it to the stage?”
