Theatre frees you, says actor Kishore Kumar on his return to stage after two decades 

What drew you back to theatre after all these years?

The attraction was always there and I wanted to go back to where I started. I began with college theatre more than two decades ago; it was not even amateur theatre then. I feel theatre is a freer medium and is not bound by strictures. You always have the freedom to express yourself in theatre performances.  

How different is it to return to the stage, with years of screen experience behind you?

Honestly, all these years of screen experience were of no help. Cinema spoils you as an actor or performer, giving you a lot of time to prepare beforehand. With theatre it is the opposite. Over the last few weeks, I have realised that every show and every performance is different, and you keep learning as you execute the play. That does not happen in cinema, despite having the luxury of time to create.  

What was the most challenging part of preparing for this performance? 

I agreed to do this play because I did not have to learn my lines and only had to read from the script. I thought it would be easy, but then I realised that this was a big challenge, as reading involves a lot of effort in theatre. You have to reach out to the audience through your voice and words. Projecting my voice was a challenge and I also feel that my decibel levels are low. I perform the play with Siri Ravikumar and genetically, women’s voices have a higher frequency, so matching up to her projection, sounding clear and not losing my energy was challenging. It required a lot of work for me and the director.  

Scenes from Love Letters – Ninna Preetiya Naanu Special Arrangement | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

You have acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. How does your multilingual experience enrich your theatre performances? 

It must have enriched my performance to some extent. I feel that any kind of experience adds to the way you express or perform as an actor.  

How was it to work with the Bangalore Theatre Collective? Do you see yourself doing more theatre going forward or is this a one-off event? 

The team understood my limitations as an actor from a cinema background and were quite accommodative. I would love to do more theatre as it is a wonderful medium to express yourself; there are no limitations, and the burden of expectations from directors or audience is quite different. If time and opportunity permits, I would want to continue doing theatre.  

Scenes from Love Letters – Ninna Preetiya Naanu Special Arrangement | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

What is the update on the film you are directing?

I have been directing a film for the last three years. It is an independent, small budget film, which I have been working on with a few friends. I am handling this project by myself, which is one of the reasons why it is taking time. Hopefully, it will be ready for release next year.  

You have been busy with Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi projects. Have Kannada projects reduced? 

I have not had an opportunity to work in good Kannada films. There have been quite a lot of wonderful Kannada films of late, with newcomers trying to bring out fresh stories, so hopefully I will get to do more work here. I am currently working on an interesting Kannada film directed by Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy who directed Aachar & Co.