Anupam Kher: I wanted to do Mera Woh Matlab Nahi Tha with Kirron but she got busy with politics

After the success of his last play Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, Anupam Kher returns to stage with his new play Mera Woh Matlab Nahi Tha, hosted by Bombay Times, starring him and Neena Gupta, that will premiere at NCPA on March 7. Ahead of its debut show, the prolific actor shares his experience working on this emotional relationship saga.
You are doing a new play after a long time. Why did you choose this particular role?
Since the last three decades, I have been doing a lot of work in films but have done only three plays — Saalgirah with Kirron (Kher), Kucch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai (KBHSH), and now, Mera Woh Matlab Nahi Tha.After KBHSH, I was looking for a play with a good script, because in India, we don’t have too many good original Hindi plays. But when Rakesh Bedi narrated the idea of this drama almost three years ago, I thought it was phenomenal. That was when I decided I wanted to do it. But it took almost two years to work out the details, as I needed at least 40 days to rehearse.
Tell us about the play.
Set in Delhi, it’s about two people who were in a relationship and were supposed to get married but couldn’t due to circumstances. 35 years later, they meet again to discover the truth behind their separation. It’s not just a love story; it’s about human relationships, misunderstandings, and many such elements. In our lives, we always keep saying things which we don’t mean. We never say what we actually mean, especially when it comes to men-women relationships. For example, a man will always keep telling his woman, ‘Mera woh matlab nahi tha.’ It’s the men who always shirk away from telling the truth. At least women are much more straightforward.
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I am very glad that Neeraj Pandey has agreed to do the flashback sequences. Apart from Neena Gupta and I, the cast includes Satish Kaushik, Himani Shivpuri and Aanjjan Srivastav. Rakesh Bedi has written as well as directed the play very well. Unfortunately, in modern Indian theatre, we don’t have many great writers who write original plays about contemporary India, so I was very happy to do this play. Initially, I wanted to do Mera Woh Matlab Nahi Tha with Kirron, but she got into politics and became very busy with her work. But I wanted to do the play at any cost. So, we roped in Neena, who is a fantastic choice.
How was your experience working with her?
She is a talented, very dedicated and bright actress. It’s wonderful to work with someone who also comes from National School of Drama like me. Because of our training, we understand each other’s work ethics and what professionalism means. Also, with this play, she will be seen back on stage after a very long time, so it will be exciting.
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Do you regret not doing more theatre?
I may have acted in just two plays, but I have done an unbelievable number of shows. I have done more than 320 shows of Kucch Bhi... See, I like to do theatre which is contemporary, real and tells the story about man-woman relationships. I don’t do theatre just for the sake of doing it. It is a communicative form of art. Hence, I don’t do plays of Shakespeare, because I don’t understand his work, as I come from a Hindi medium school. People who do Shakespeare must be very bright! But for me, theatre is about human emotions, contemporary situations and things that people can relate to. I believe theatre takes away the rust from an actor. When you feel rusty, you do theatre, and you discover either of the following — ‘Oh, I am not that bad’ or ‘Oh, I am very bad, I need to polish myself'.
What are your expectations from the play?
I am very nervous. Unlike films, you don’t get retakes for performing live on stage. Also, it’s a huge play; there are lines and lines of dialogues and I am not getting any younger. So, it’s a lot of excitement mixed with nervousness. And opening nights are always jittery. In fact, I get jittery before every performance. The play has to be perfect, as I don’t believe in improvisation. It has to be performed as it is written. I hope people like it.
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