How love for theatre keeps Shernaz Patel going

When one thinks of Shernaz Patel, her performances in the plays Love Letters, Blackbird and The Siddhus Of Upper Juhu come to mind. She’s been prolific on the theatre scene since the mid-1980s, and has even appeared in films and OTT series. Besides acting, she loves to be involved in other activities related to theatre, from curating festivals to children’s theatre and voice training. 

For the fourth time, Shernaz has taken up the role of programming consultant at Aadyam Theatre, an initiative of the Aditya Birla Group. Now entering its seventh season. this year’s schedule kicks off with the play The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Directed by Atul Kumar, it will be staged at Mumbai’s St Andrew’s Auditorium on November 23 and 24. The play is based on Mark Haddon’s popular 2003 novel. 

Aadyam Theatre’s seventh season opens with Atul Kumar’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Director Nadir Khan is the other programming consultant for this season. Says Shernaz, “Curious Incident is the story of a young boy and his family. It’s been a huge international success, and we have been able to adapt it. It goes into the mind of a 15-year-old boy, and the play lends itself to a lot of choreography, projection and sound. It’s very much up Atul’s alley, in that sense.” 

The other plays chosen for this season are Sunil Shanbag’s The Horse, Shubhro Jyot Barat’s Sleuth, Purva Naresh’s Do Deewaney and Nadir Khan’s Mumbai Star. Of the 80-plus proposals selected in the first round, 30 were shortlisted. Of these, eight were further chosen before deciding the final five. “We tried to mix the genres and languages. We have a family story like Curious Incident, romance, thriller, satire and a dance musical. Being proscenium plays, we want them to be engaging and entertaining for a larger audience,” says Shernaz. 

Even while curating the festival, Shernaz continued to do shows of performances for The Siddhus Of Upper Juhu, directed by Rahul DaCunha and featuring actor Rajit Kapur. The play, produced by Rage Productions, was set up in 1992 by Rahul, Rajit and Shernaz.

How does she balance her curation and acting commitments? “I do a lot of other projects related to theatre because it is something I am passionate about. Acting is one side of me. But even for Rage, we did a lot of work to promote and encourage young writing through the project Writers’ Bloc. I’ve myself done a lot of writing projects. I’m now doing a school project with NCPA called Connections. And I’ve just trained to be a voice teacher. I was head of acting at Whistling Woods for three years. Sharing the joy of theatre gives me great satisfaction.” 

Shernaz and Rajit Kapur in Love Letters
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Shernaz’s involvement with theatre began at an early age. Being the daughter of Gujarati theatre veterans Ruby and Burjor Patel, she attended plays from childhood. She recalls, “I just didn’t see myself in any other field. I moved naturally and organically, performing in school, or college, then professionally.” 

She made her debut with The Diary Of Anne Frank, about the German-born Jewish girl who documented her life in hiding amid Nazi persecution. She says, “It was actually produced by Rajit. He was in Sydenham College and I was in Elphinstone. It opened a lot of doors for us. For the first time, we got to perform in a space like Prithvi. For the first time, we toured outside the city. It was a beautiful play which touched a lot of hearts.” 

Just when she had settled down with theatre, she got a chance to perform in Mahesh Bhatt’s 1985 television film Janam, co-starring Kumar Gaurav. She says, “Honestly, I was not really looking into get into films. I always wanted my gear to be theatre only. But I enjoyed the experience, and working with Mahesh Bhatt was absolutely fantastic.” 

One of Shernaz’s most memorable theatre roles was in Rahul DaCunha’s Love Letters, along with Rajit. Her performance in Akarsh Khurana’s Blackbird fetched her the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Award (Meta) besides other accolades. “We opened Love Letters in 1992 and performed it till 2019, so it’s been a long run. It struck a chord with so many people. There was a certain beauty as we actually started writing letters. For the young generation today, it’s a whole different thing. But because it’s a love story, it resonates with everyone.” 

Blackbird was about the uneasy reunion of a woman and a man, played by Akash Khurana. “It was a tough play to do, and really challenging. But you just sink your teeth into these roles and give 110 per cent,” she explains. Shernaz’s other plays include Antigone, Arms And The Man, Class Of 84, Six Degrees Of Separation and The Glass Menagerie. 

Shernaz and Rajit in The Siddhus Of Upper Juhu 
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Outside of theatre, Shernaz’s acting projects have included Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films Black and Guzaarish. Recently, she acted in the OTT series Shekhar Home, which is the Indian version of Sherlock Holmes, and the thriller 36 Days. 

Asked about the challenges faced by the medium today, Shernaz says, “There are the same challenges that have always been there. The financial struggle is huge. It’s hard to do only theatre. In fact, in today’s times, it’s nearly impossible for an actor, or even a writer or director. Producers may make a bit of money, but it’s not enough.”

On the positive side, she finds it heartening to see today’s youngsters keep all doors open, whether it is theatre or cinema or OTT or voice work. She explains, “When we began, many people used theatre as a stepping stone to get into films. Very few actors like say Naseeruddin Shah remained in theatre. Most just moved on. But today’s youngsters are realising the joy of each medium, as each medium gives something new.”

Another problem is of spaces. Says Shernaz, “We still have only one Prithvi and one Experimental Theatre in Mumbai. Yes, many new places have sprung up in Aram Nagar in Andheri, but they are not infrastructurally sound. So your production is really basic. We don’t get government funding. There’s no real support for it to become an industry.”

Shernaz also points out that things become harder when one is trying to do anything off-mainstream or experimental. “There are various other challenges. When newcomers want to do theatre, they don’t know where to go or what to do as there is no constructive process,” she adds.

Asked whether many young writers are entering the field with original scripts, she says, “Again it comes to finances. If you have written a good play in college, and you see that OTT is fantastic way of making a living, you’ll naturally veer. Having said that, there are young writers like Abhishek Majumdar, Purva Naresh and Sapan Saran who are doing good solid work in theatre. But we need more young writers.”

On how she wants to guide the younger generation, Shernaz says she plans to focus more on her role as a voice teacher. “The teaching I do is not only for actors. It is for anyone who uses their voice. I want to explore more of that because I think it can help a lot of people,” she says. That statement again demonstrates her love for the medium.