‘I don’t mean to sound naughty, but I fell in love with myself while playing Hamlet’: Jayant Kripalani

From powerful stage performances to acclaimed TV shows like Khandaan, Jayant Kripalani has been a towering presence in Indian theatre and television. A veteran of over four decades, his work reflects a deep commitment to the craft of acting and storytelling.

Though he has appeared in several popular films and helmed TV shows, it’s the stage that remains closest to his heart, where his love for character-building and the dramatic arts truly comes alive.After a quiet phase post-2019, his return to the stage came through a serendipitous collaboration with Kolkata-based director-actor Kaushik Sen with Marx in Kolkata. In Howard Zinn’s Marx in Soho, reimagined for a contemporary Kolkata audience, Kripalani stepped into the shoes of Karl Marx, in turn bringing both intellect and empathy to a role that demanded internal transformation.We caught up with the veteran in his element – amid books, memories, and renewed passion for the stage. Excerpts from a freewheeling chat. In your long and notable acting career, are there characters you have played that you are particularly fond of?That’s a tough one, because when I play a character, I have to fall in love with the person that I am playing. It is only then that I enjoy the role to every fibre of my being. I know it sounds dramatic, but that’s the way I feel about each of the characters I play. One of the first roles I played on stage was Hamlet, hence, it remains special.

There are many others that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially in black comedies and dramas.

I loved directing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, where I played Guildenstern. I believe I’ve been lucky, as most of my characters have been favourites.I played a truly nasty role in the play Miss Julie – but the audience liked him. It was an eye-opener. I realised how people interpret and even sympathise with such charactersHow did you get that role in Hamlet?By pure chance! I’d gone to pick up someone from an audition, and the director said, “Why don’t you audition?”That’s how I got the role. It was one of the turning points of my life. Hamlet was one of the toughest roles I’ve ever comprised. I don’t mean to sound naughty, but I think I fell in love with myself while playing it!How was your experience working with Kaushik Sen, his troupe Swapnasandhani, and also with Srijit?I want to adopt the three – Kaushik, his wife Reshmi and son Riddhi – as my family.

After the production’s first performance, Reshmi was so warm to me, and during the whole process, I never once felt out of place. I had my apprehensions, but it all turned out to be organic. The troupe is young, talented, and dedicated. I’ve rarely seen such a well-balanced group. Reshmi keeps things together while Kaushik brainstorms. Srijit was fun – he kept us all on our toes with his take on the Devil.

Working with them was a wonderful experience and quite the ideal return after a hiatus.Becoming MarxPortraying Karl Marx on stage had its own challenges, and Jayant knew he couldn’t depend on past performances for reference. “I knew a few things about him, but I had to reach into my home library upstairs, and the one in my head.”Extensive reading helped him piece together the man behind the ideology. “He wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes, lived in poverty, and didn’t see much success during his lifetime,” he reflects.To make the role his own, he went beyond the history books. “I started wondering – how would he perceive present-day Kolkata?” Jayant says. The process became an exploration not just of Marx the man, but of Marxism itself – its ideals, contradictions and continued relevance. “I had to understand his philosophy, its scope and limitations, and how he viewed money, love, life.”

A return to the Kolkata stageJayant Kripalani’s return to theatre came after an unexpected break post-2019.

“I was working on a serious project in 2020 when COVID hit,” he says.Though he’d worked extensively in film, TV and theatre, not much had happened in Kolkata. “As I said, I was apprehensive about working with a Kolkata-based director,” he admits. But after meeting Kaushik, things changed. Originally planned as a conversation piece, the project evolved into a reworked version of Marx in Soho. “The play was received well,” adds Jayant.