Shafali Shah returns to theatre, Vipul Shah to produce play

Mumbai, Aug 14 (IANS) Actress Shefali Shah will return to theatre Aug 15 after a gap of 15 years and her hubby Vipul Shah can hardly contain his excitement as he will be producing the play - one after a gap of 20 years.

'I am happy and proud as I am able to see Shefali go into theatre. I am relieved that I am not acting with her. Initially I was to play the role opposite her. But I realised in time that she'd chew up every scene,' says Vipul, who is currently busy with the pre-production of the Hindi version of Tamil hit 'Kakha Kakha'.

Now the male lead would be played by the redoubtable theatre-film actor Kiran Karmarkar, who was part of Ekta Kapoor's long-running soap 'Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki' and was also seen recently as a debauched cop in Prakash Jha's 'Raajneeti' and in Sudipto Chattopadhya's 'Pankh'.

'I'm sure Kiran will do a much better job,' Vipul sighs.

Shefali will star in the Hindi play to be directed by renowned Marathi director Chandrakant Kulkarni. The play, titled 'Bas Itna Khwab', is written by Prashant Dalvi.

The play, in which Shefali has the role of a lifetime, will subsequently be turned into a film by Vipul Shah.

Shefali seems surprised that word on her first stage appearance in 15 years is already out.

'Yes, I am doing a play that my husband is producing. It's a huge challenge to go back on stage. It's scary but thrilling. And it needs a great amount of ground work, preparation and rehearsals,' says the mother of two 'very demanding boys'.

'To me, the stage is not a medium that I can regard as separate from cinema or television. All are mediums to express myself as an actor and therefore are equally important. I fell in love with my character in Prashant Dalvi's play because it has such extraordinary depth and resonance,' she adds.

Apparently, Rahul Bose was also approached for the play. However, the actor preferred Priyanka Chopra's company in 'Fear Factor' in Brazil.