Dear Om Katare Sir
I happened to listen to your interview on Vividha BHarati on 21st August 2013 where you almost became emotional while recounting your days of struggle. Sir, hats off to you for your passion.
It is a pity that Bollywood never utilized your talents but so what ? You have created a niche for yourself, you are a brand now. Good to know that you are training upcoming actors and actresses. As you have said, people should come forward to act in plays because they love it and not because they do not have any other recourse.
Stars who have not made in Bollywood can give a shot at stage performances by acting in plays. I do not know why everyone runs only behind TV serials. It is obvious – stage does not pay. In such circumstances, if you have continued with your play, it is only due to your passion Mr Om Katare. This is the tragedy of Bollywood. They prefer to cast Amitabh again and again for the zillionth time. Why can’t we have Om Katare in one of those roles? Abhishek Bachchan, Kumar Gaurav, Aftab Shivdasani, Vivek Oberoi can all lend great colour to the stage. Ditto with actresses who have not made it in Bollywood or who are sliding downhill in the Bollywood market.
Mr Katare, why is it that stage is always lagging behind cinema and TV ? I am unable to understand.
Actresses like Deepti Naval, Shabana Azmi and Geeta Siddarth can do wonders on stage. Even Ayesha Jhulka who did “Purush” quit after she married Mr Vashi.
Unlike TV, stage does not pay well. But in stage, timings are also not hectic like TV serials. So, why are people shying away from it?
Good Knight Mohan is truly a great professional. I hope other cash rich individuals like Shah rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Dharmendra, Amitabh come forward to support stage. Why - Sanjana Kapoor can influence her cousin Rishi to contribute to stage – after all, Rishi Kapoor is a great actor.
If you don’t mind, a few suggestions.
· Continue with corporate sponsorships.
· Use stage to promote brands – this will make staging plays sustainable in the long run
· Encourage new talent by paying them reasonably well.
· Stage those plays too which have immense potential to be made into movies. K Balachander (of “Ek Duuje Ke Liye” fame) did that and succeeded to a great extent.
· Everybody may not be able to travel to Prithvi and Chabbildas so why not stage plays in Borivali, Dahisar, Virar, Malad. You spoke about Hotel Manali in your interview. Hotel Manali is in Malad.
It is Bollywood’s loss that great actors like Dinesh Thakur, Om Katare, Virendra Singh never got their due in Bollywood. Is Karan Johar listening ? Karan Johar is the only sensible person who gives opportunities to people based on talent.
When are things ever going to change , O God ! When will stage ever get its due in India?
Yours truly,
Satya
