Dilip Prabhavalkar, winner of two national awards for best supporting actor, has come into national limelight recently for his loveable portrayal of the Mahatma in Munnabhai MBBS. Yet his career spans over 30 years and comprises over 30 prestigious awards for his contribution to theatre, film and literature. We met this thespian of the stage, the screen and the page in his modest Dadar apartment when he had little time to spare, hence conducting this interview in two parts. This artist isn't tied to crazy Bollywood schedules, but right from the time he chucked up his job in a pharmaceutical company and video production unit to devote his all to the arts, he has made his own routine, and sticks to it.
PART 1
What do awards mean to you?
In the beginning they used to thrill me, but I've become objective over time. These national awards are an exception. Besides the associated prestige, what makes them special is that I received one for playing the father of the nation – which isn't a role to tamper with. I was a skeptical at first about how Gandhi's character set in today's times with 'Bollywood's Favourite Bhai' would be recieved by audiences, but Raju Hirani's vision came through… and the award crowns that victory.
Some have accused the Gandhi in Lage Raho Munnabhai of being an oversimplification of the Mahatma.
That's because Gandhi was in Munnabhai's mind. Munnabhai's problems were simple, and so dealt with simply. The struggles of Gandhi's life were much larger. Also this simplification made many young people relate to the film. Their problems are also simple.
You became a household face in Maharashtra with your portrayal of Chimanrao in the Marathi TV serial of the same name 30 years ago, but you were unknown nationally till Lage Raho… despite having acted in some prominent Bollywood releases.
It's funny. People often ask me why I haven't acted in mainsteam Hindi films before. When I tell them of characters I've played in a Chupke Chupke or an Encounter: The Killing, they remember the characters vividly, but haven't placed me as the actor playing them. Then there are films like Beqabu, where I played nine characters. I love saying that Sanjeev Kumar played nine characters and it was called Naya Din Nayee Raat. When I did the same it should have been called 'Gaya Din Gayee Raat'. The film vanished without a trace.
Are you saying stereotyping is necessary to root an actor in audience memory – for a character actor as with a star?
I love my work too much to have given serious thought to this. I try to portray my characters as honestly as possible. I did not want to become a star. I'm happy where I am.
You've been actor and writer, but you're best described as 'humourist'. What's the secret to making so many laugh?
Yes, humour underlies most of my writing, direction and acting. It ranges from satire to slapstick. The secret is to see humour in what's happening around you. How? It's like having an ear for music, you either do or don't. Once you see these things, they get incorporated into your work automatically. I can't explain how I gave the middle class family members in Shriyut Gangadhar Tipre a Wodehousean hue, or decided to flex my non-existent muscles to tease a hefty police official as Punappa in Encounter… . But I can say my life is overflowing with a sense of humour and comic timing. After seeing Shriyut… for instance, Hrishikesh Mukherjee called me. I thought someone was playing a prank on me, and refused to believe he was Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
Then there are films where you've refrained from humour, yet won awards.
Yes. Chaukat Raja for instance, where I was playing a mentally retarded boy. And Ratra Aarambh, where I portrayed a schizophrenic. I didn't see the humour there. In Shiva and Sarkar Raj, Ramu (Ram Gopal Verma) didn't want any humour.
If Subhash Nagre aka Sarkar's character in Sarkar Raj reminded one of Balasaheb Thackeray, who was Rao Saab - the character played by you – based on?
I thought he was a bit like Anna Hazare, no? But, look, firstly, I don't think Sarkar was like Balasaheb either. Or that Vishnu Nagre or Sanjay Somji were like Raj Thackeray. I've read these views but don't agree with them. Besides I haven't seen the movie yet. No time. I'm going to catch it today.
PART 2
After watching SarkarRaj…
What did you think of the film?
I liked the movie. It was a different kind of theme – the development politics angle and everything. It holds. I liked all the three Bachchans, and Ramu's style of direction. Of course the surprises, an essential part of any Ram Gopal Verma film, didn't apply to me as an audience, because I knew them already.
What about Shevri, the other film you won a national award for, where you played a middle class clerk?
I haven't seen the movie. I didn't have time to… But it provided me interesting opportunities for improvising….
That’s the second film of yours you haven’t seen…
Laughs…
Your writings and your portrayals involve umpteen characters from middle class
I can't point out any unique characteristic. I've portrayed many characters other than from this class too. But yes, I write from what I see in my surroundings. I haven't traveled as much as… say Tendulkar (Vijay Tendulkar)… to gather a host of experiences. So my writings have been centred in the Maharashtrian middle class mostly.
Chimanrao, for instance, is a character from that milieu. What made you re-launch that character with your play Hasva Phasvi?
Many reasons. One is that I was playing many characters in the play, and wanted at least one I knew well. The audiences loved that character too, and would find an old connection in a new play. Also I felt the character, created by C V Joshi could be explored beyond, by placing his characteristic style in a different set of situations. Finally, I wanted to pay a tribute to the character that made me famous.
Your portrayal of the Pandit in the Marathi film Valu has also been applauded.
The credit for that goes to Umesh Kulkarni, the director. He etched out the character, and I only had a few improvisations to make. In a medium like film an actor is always a 'director's actor'. He always knows only a few pieces of the jigsaw, not the whole picture.
How do socio-political issues find their way into your satiric columns, articles and books?
I'm not interested in joining politics. So this is the only way to express my frustration. Humour is the only solution, in the absence of a real solution, for a helpless middle class citizen.
But humour sometimes trivializes real issues. And encourages escapism.
Yes. That is a thin line which an artist should be aware of. In P L Deshpande's adaptation of The Last Appointment for instance, there were many places where I could have injected humour, but didn't. Yet there was relief provided intermittently by the situation being humorous rather than the character. The character was that of the common man – whose pathetic plight is too much like most of us, to be humorous.
Do you think the presence of Bollywood in Mumbai is affecting Marathi cinema's viewership?
But that is bound to happen. People here use two languages… i.e. Marathi and Hindi. It isn't comparable to the South, where Andhra Pradesh alone might earn more than Bollywood even, because everyone there watches only films in their regional language. Also Marathi cinema continues to produce interesting films on very different subjects, and they're doing very well. I'm not the best person to comment really, because I'm not really aware of the economics of these industries as a whole.
What about the future of Marathi theatre – Experimental and Professional? Any interesting trends?
Yes. (laughs) That the line dividing the two is fast disappearing.
Finally, why have you shifted from Mumbai to Pune, and what plans for the future?
I stopped Hasva Phasvi, despite its popularity, because the play had reached a saturation point of performance for me – when there was nothing more to develop in the characters. When I worked in a pharmaceutical company long ago, we were obsessed with ascertaining the shelf life of each product. I have to find new products if the shelf life of the old ones have expired. For this, I'm re-charging my batteries in Pune. I'm listening to classical music, watching world cinema… meeting interesting people. In
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
Early 1970s: Prabhavalkar's first major performance in Lobh Nasava Hi Vinati, a play written by Vijay Tendulkar.
1977-79: The Chimanrao TV series took Prabhavalkar to every Maharashtrian household, and kept him there.
1991: Prabhavalkar, a postgraduate in Biophysics and a diploma holder from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre leaves behind his other career to concentrate on acting, and writing.
1970s onwards: Plays which won Prabhavalkar acclaim and awards include Prem Kahani, Aranyak, Vasuchi Sasu, Bhool Chook Dyavi Ghyavi (written by him), Jawai Maza Bhala, Sandhyachhaya, Kalam 302, Ghar Tighancha Hava, Ek Zunj Varyashi and Natigoti. Topping this list is Hasva Phasvi, also written by him, where he plays six characters and which has had over 700 runs, before he shut it down.
His acclaimed and awarded films include Chaukat Raja, Katha Doan Ganpathraonchi, Sarkarnama, Ratra Aarambh, and recently – Valu, Shevri, Encounter – The Killing and Lage Raho Munnabhai.
Three of his books – Googly, Hasgat and Kagdi Baan won literary awards. His books often comprise a compilation of his columns and articles which, aside from arousing laughter, have addressed contemporary socio-political issues. His book Anudini (also a compilation of a column he penned) was adapted into the highly popular TV series Shriyut Gangadhar Tipre, which he acted in too.
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