I remember the first time when I stepped onto the stage as
an actor. I had to get on stage to overcome my complex of being TALL, and the
best way to get rid of it was to be in front of an audience and that too at
Prithvi Theatre, where the audience is up close and personal. It was called Ek
tha Gadha urf Allahadad, a political satire and I played a common man. In the
market I had to walk up to the Nimboo seller and ask him how much it cost. The vendor
replies “bhaisahab baith ke dekhyeh yeh santrey hai”, people laughed as the joke fitted me
well. So that was the first ice breaker of my stupid complex I was 17 years old
at the time and then I went to do many plays with bigger and better roles to
play. I also very fondly remember when I played a role where I was supposed to
sing 4 lines live on stage with live Harmonium. I rehearsed for nearly a month
to just catch the sur and sing it and very proudly I can say I did pull it off
without going of tune, but that was my first and last singing stint. I recollect many instances when I was loved
for my being tall and ridiculed as well for being tall. But by and large I love
being tall. It’s a different HIGH! Theatre changed me so much as a person and
helped me nurtyre my creative mind. tallmanvision@gmail.com
