If theatre had cash, no actor would go away it: Himani Shivpuri

If it weren’t for cash, theatre artistes wouldn’t depart the occupation for TV and cinema, says veteran actor Himani Shivpuri. The National School of Drama (NSD) graduate admitted it was tough to make ends meet when she and her husband, Gyan Shivpuri, did newbie theatre work throughout the Nineteen Eighties.

“We would make Rs 1,000 a month and at times not even that. We had a house to run, children to feed. It was very difficult. I think if theatre had any money, no actor or actress would ever leave the medium,” Shivpuri mentioned.

The 62-year-old actor, who has labored throughout mediums on TV, cinema and stage, was talking throughout a session on theatre and ladies at Rajendra Yadav Smriti Samaroh right here at Bikaner House on Saturday night. Shivpuri added that if the identify, fame and cash related to showbiz is put apart, “there is no bigger satisfaction than theatre for an actor”.

“It (theatre) is more intoxicating than any drug,” she mentioned. The recalled the time when she was kicked out of the NSD Repertory Company by theatre thespian Ram Gopal Bajaj aka ‘Bajju bhai’ for accepting the position in Doordarshan’s drama sequence Humrahi within the early Nineteen Nineties.

“I don’t know if I should call it a blessing or what, but if Bajju bhai hadn’t kicked me out I would still be doing theatre,” she added. Shivpuri performed the position of Devaki Bhaujai in Humrahi, which gained appreciable reputation among the many viewers. “Theatre is my first and will be my last love. You don’t forget your first love, a woman especially doesn’t forget. My seniors, including Neena Gupta, went directly to Mumbai after the NSD, but I decided to do theatre,” she added.

The actor mentioned it was a tough time for girls to get into theatre throughout the Nineteen Eighties. The scenario, nevertheless, is altering. “The struggle is still there, but today people have started seeing theatre as the stepping stone for cinema. So it has become slightly easier.”