'The Seduction': Eijaz Khan's theatre debut

Television actor Eijaz Khan made his theatre debut with a play called "The Seduction" and believes "true acting" happens when you have to connect with the live audience sitting in front of you.

"The Seduction" is written by Anton Chekov and Eijaz is seen as Peter Fernandes, a flirt and seducer. His first performance was here on Tuesday.

"On stage, it is true acting. You say something and the audience reacts and then you get motivated. I am experiencing this and it is such a high. Out of nine years of my acting career, I have learned something new now," said Eijaz.

Even after having worked in a string of TV shows like "Kesar", "Kkusum", "Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka", "Bhaskar Bharti" and "Shubh Vivah" as well as films such as "Tanu Weds Manu" and "Zilla Gaziabad", theatre was a big responsibility for the actor.

"I was scared of theatre. In TV you can take 20 takes. Even in films, it is the directors, DOPs (director of photography), editor's responsibility. But in theatre, it is only you," he said.

The play also has Hima Singh and Gyanendra Tripathi. Initially, Eijaz was "nervous" and added: "I was playing a character and every mood had to hit the audience."

So, what motivated him to join theatre?

"I decided to do everything, which I had not done till now," Eijaz concluded.