A few years ago, when I met one of India’s youngest and most promising playwrights Ajay Krishnan at the Ranga Shankara cafe, he was sitting casually on a bench, one knee peeking out of torn denims. For a writer and director whose play Butter and Mashed Banana had freshly won a slew of awards, had been short listed for the Writers-Bloc workshop organised by the Royal Court Theatre London and staged alongside the works of thespians like Habib Tanvir, Kanhailal and Ramu Ramanathan at the Prithvi Theatre, he was remarkably averse to stretching a word to a mouthful.
His answers were shorter than the questions he was asked. It was plain to see that Krishnan does not seek attention either in his life or for his work. He is a minimalist who has more to show than to claim. Someone who writes more than he talks. Lives more than he pretends. He does not network, does not believe in packaging himself as the next revolution the theatre world is waiting for and here is a tip. If you want to interview him, take a camera along because he does not have too many pictures of himself to share with the media.
Butter and Mashed Banana is back in Bangalore for concluding shows and it is time to grill Krishnan again. He is more responsive to an email interview and here are his answers to the questions Unboxed Writers asked him.
What are you writing next?
I’m contributing text along with another writer Irawati Karnik, for a director named Sophia Stepf who recently staged the excellent play A Small Small World in Bangalore. I find it exciting to work with her because I know she’ll reject whatever she doesn’t like or doesn’t fit her vision and reshape what she does like to fit her ends.
Do you think there is a huge gap between contemporary political, social reality and Indian theatre writing? Are we projecting our truths and lies well in our theatre?
There isn’t much new writing happening anyway, so this gap is bound to exist. But the writers I’m aware of, regularly write plays and are quite committed to telling the kinds of stories that don’t find expression in other mediums. Writers like Abhishek Majumdar, Manav Kaul, Neel Chaudhuri. Not out of any of commitment to causes etc. I think they just happen to be drawn to stories that aren’t heard elsewhere. And in a larger context, I think this quality is important in new theatre work.
Do you think the Indian theatre audience is ready to look beyond the revered classics and comedies and sink their teeth in material that challenges them?
Yes. If a story is well told, an audience will respond to it, whether it’s tragic, comic, classic or experimental. Actually, how an audience responds to anything, I think is a secondary consideration. It is of course THE SINGLE most important thing, but it’s also absolutely out of anyone’s control. So it is a bit self defeating to try to account for the audience when you create work.
Who are your favourite modern playwrights and why?
David Mamet is always riveting. He also has very interesting, entertaining and enlightening views on the function of an actor, and a director, and what a play should be. That makes for great reading. Girish Karnad because he makes philosophy dramatic. Vijay Tendulkar whom some people consider dated, I still find stomach-turning. Badal Sircar for his bravery and clarity.
Among younger writers I think Manav Kaul has been doing good work in Mumbai. Of English theatre writers currently working in Bangalore, I think Abhishek Majumdar (who also works in other languages) is very exciting, with great perspectives and a poetic imagination.
Which shampoo do you use? (This question will coax a smile out of those who have watched Butter and Mashed Banana)
A special homemade extract of jackfruit syrup mixed with eight-day-old beer, aloe-vera cream, milk, sugar, eggs and baking powder, and salt and pepper to taste. With almond extract!
We want to laugh but we will save the chuckles for the actual performance when scores of others will enjoy Krishnan’s quirky, surprisingly wicked sense of humour along with us.
Butter and Mashed Banana will be staged at Ranga Shankara on June 11 and 12. For bookings: www.bookmyticket.com and www.indianstage.in
Reema Moudgil is the author of Perfect Eight (http://www.flipkart.com/b/books/perfect-eight-reema-moudgil-book-9380032870?affid=unboxedwri )