I feel all powerful: Aparna - An article

Television's fun but theatre is a different experience altogether.

Aparna Tilak who's just made her debut in theatre is having a blast. "I feel all powerful," she smiles. "You are an actor, but while you are performing on stage you are as good as the the director, editor and dialogue writer of your scene," she says.

Aparna Tilak is part of Alyque Padamsee's Mad Horses. "There are more than 20 skits in Mad Horses. I'm doing around three of them," she says excitedly.

So how did theatre happen to her? "I'd been waiting to do theatre for a long time. Usually for TV actors, films is the next logical step. It's fine if it's a good movie. But, what's the point doing a B or C grade or a Z-grade movie! I am anyway working with the Yash Chopras and Karan Johars of TV. I was always interested in theatre. At a social event I met Gary Richardson who suggested that I get into theatre. I went for an audition and in three weeks I was part of Mad Horses," she says.

What's most interesting about her theatre debut, she says, is that it's organic theatre where you don't need props or special lights. "You just need actors and a discerning audience. It can be staged anywhere, even on the road if you find a good audience."

A couple of weeks ago, the group suddenly decided to perform at a restaurant for Richard Rothman, the co-writer of the particular skit, who was in Mumbai. "It was so much fun staging it all of a sudden. It was his birthday and the skit we put up was It's Got To Be Love ," exclaims Aparna.

Meanwhile on TV, she remains busy with Left Right Left . The actress prefers doing one show at a time because "that gives you enough time to do everything else you want to" she reasons.