As thespian Mahesh Manjrekar explains, the lead character in his play Animal, Dattu, doesn't become an animal overnight; his survival instinct makes him one. He says that when you come to Mumbai with unfulfilled dreams, you are hopeful at first; but once you start facing rejection and humiliation, you begin compromising your dreams, and loneliness hits almost immediately. With every rejection, something is taken away from you; at one point, survival becomes more important than dignity. This is exactly what Dattu reflects in the play, resonating with the lives of many who try to settle not just in Mumbai, but in many other bigger cities, and often experience their dreams getting crushed as reality hits.
Written, directed and acted by Mahesh himself, this solo act will have its Kolkata show on September 19, 7 pm onwards, at Dhono Dhanya Auditorium, Alipore. As the actor-director-playwright gets ready for the show, we speak with him, trying to find out who Dattu really is. Excerpts:
Why did you write, direct and perform Animal yourself? Didn’t you think of another actor to play Dattu?
Honestly, yes, other actors did cross my mind. But Dattu is a character who has lived with me for years. I knew his rhythm, his silences, his frustrations, his madness. The more I thought about giving him to someone else, the more I felt that I would have to explain Dattu to that actor. Eventually, I realised I should just do it myself.
Writing, directing and performing is definitely a triple challenge, but it also gives you complete control over the character and the world of the play.
Dattu’s struggle is set in Mumbai. When can a Kolkata audience resonate with it?
The city may be Mumbai, but the struggle isn’t Mumbai’s alone.
Anyone who has left home carrying a dream, whether in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi or anywhere else, will understand Dattu. The language, the city and the circumstances may change, but the hunger to make something of yourself remains the same.
That is where I think Kolkata will connect with him.
How is writing for one performer different from writing a multi-character film like Vaastav or Astitva?
It is completely different.
In cinema, you have other characters, locations, music, editing, close-ups, and so many tools to tell the story. In a one-person play, you have only one actor and his imagination.
You have to create an entire world through one person. That makes the writing much more demanding. Every word, pause and silence has to carry something.
How did you stage Dattu’s conversations with invisible people?
The biggest challenge was making the audience believe that those people exist.
I don’t want the actor to simply stand there and say, “I’m talking to someone.” He has to genuinely believe that person is standing in front of him.
So I approached every invisible character as real. Their presence had to be felt even though they were never physically on stage.
How do you move between humour and dark reality?
Life itself does that.
Even when things are going badly, people laugh. Sometimes the darkest situations produce the funniest moments. I didn’t want Animal to become continuously heavy and depressing.
Humour gives the audience a little breathing space. And then, when reality hits, it hits harder.
How much of Dattu comes from your own observations?
A lot of it comes from what I have seen.
I have spent many years in this industry. I have seen people arrive with enormous dreams and slowly get crushed by rejection. I have seen people compromise, struggle, disappear and sometimes survive against all odds.
Dattu is not one particular person. He is a combination of many people I have encountered, and perhaps a little bit of me too.
How do you prepare physically and mentally for a solo performance?
There is no magic routine.
The preparation is mainly about understanding the character so deeply that I don’t have to “act” every moment. The physical energy comes from the character’s emotional journey.
But yes, doing a solo show for over an hour is physically exhausting. You have to take care of your voice, breathing, body and concentration. Every performance demands the same commitment because the audience deserves the same Dattu every night.
How does a live audience change your performance?
The audience becomes my co-actor.
In cinema, once you shoot a scene, it is finished. In theatre, every night is different. Sometimes the audience laughs at a line longer than you expect. Sometimes there is complete silence.
You have to listen to that audience and respond to it without losing the rhythm of the play.
That’s the beauty, and the danger, of theatre.
It took almost nine years to bring Dattu on stage. Why? And has ageing been a bane or boon?
Maybe Dattu needed those nine years.
When I first thought about doing this, I was a different person. I had a different understanding of the character and perhaps a different energy.
I have aged, yes. But I don’t see that as a disadvantage. If anything, it has given me more experience, more observation and more understanding of people.
Dattu is also older in his experiences. So perhaps the years worked in the character’s favour.
Upcoming shows?
Animal is now going to different audiences and different cities. That’s the exciting part.
For me, the journey of a play really begins once it leaves the rehearsal room and meets the audience. So I’m looking forward to taking Dattu to more places and seeing how different audiences receive him.
And yes, there is more work coming, but I would rather let the work speak when the time comes.
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