Manoj Bohra's plain crazy about the stage
By: Sowmya Rajaram
August 26, 2005
Helen is in the news again, but it's not a comeback film that's making headlines this time round. It's her theatre debut. Plane Crazy about Love, the Naved Aslam-directed one hour, 45 minute-long play debuted on Aug 19, and will be touring the country shortly.
metro spoke to Manoj Bohra, lead actor and Khar resident, about acting in a play produced by his family's production house.
Bohra plays Raj Malhotra, a yuppie bachelor who juggles three girlfriends until the unexpected arrival of a friend from school throws everything into disarray. "Raj is a newspaper correspondent. He's a very suave guy, and despite being young, he knows the way of the world. He manages his love life with the help of his housekeeper, played by Helen," says Bohra.
With a long background in theatre and TV (he's been part of soaps like Kkusum, Just Mohabbat and Shararat, and plays like Man of La Mancha with Daalip Tahil, Ballabhpur Ki Roop Katha with Nadira Babbar and Minorities with Quasar Padamsee), that sort of a role shouldn't be too much of a problem for this 26-year-old, but Bohra doesn't make light of it.
"I was acting opposite a legend like Helen, and I was completely in awe of her. At the same time, it wasn't too hard getting in and out of the skin of the character. I act better without preparation, when I can just switch off and switch on," adds Bohra.
So what was it like working with Helen? "I've known her because our company has worked with her over the years, but sharing the stage with her was an altogether different experience," he says.
"She's a fantastic person and a great actress. We were all completely in awe of her, but she was like a fairy godmother to all of us. She taught us so many things — from grace to dance to movement, body language and expression," he adds.
Bohra believes that both theatre and TV have their own charm. "TV has the luxury of many retakes but theatre doesn't allow that. At the same time, performing live in and getting an immediate response gives you a different high. TV is very deadline-driven and one may have to compromise on quality. However, theatre is the real learning ground," he feels.
So where does he go from here? "I will always do one play a year, because I love theatre. But my ultimate dream is to get into movies," reckons Bohra. The immediate future though, is linked to Plane Crazy About Love. "The response has been fantastic, and people have loved the humour. We're going to tour the country now," he says.
I checked in search it says not posted b4, sorri if it is.
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