Prithvi Theatre Festival 2023 | Actor-director Sumeet Vyas: ‘Doing Purane Chawal has enriched me as an artist’

Actor and theatre director Sumeet Vyas.

In the last couple of years, Sumeet Vyas has made a name for himself playing characters that are charming and relatable – think Chandan from Tripling or Mikesh from Permanent Roommates. In between, there are also roles such as gangster Ganya Surve in the recently-released Bambai Meri Jaan or that of a serial killer in Mrs Undercover. The 41-year-old actor has also been actively involved in theatre since his younger days. He has now directed Purane Chawal, a new play by D for Drama for Prithvi Festival 2023 with a cast that includes Kumud Mishra, Shubhrajyoti Barat, Ghanshyam Lalsa, Ishwar Shunya and Ayesha Raza Mishra, among others. In an interview with moneycontrol.com, he spoke about his new play and acting projects including the recently-released Permanent Roommates season 3. Edited excerpts:

Sumeet Vyas with actors Kumud Mishra (extreme left) and Ghanshyam Lalsa during a rehearsal for the play Purane Chawal.

You have not directed a play in a while. How did you end up directing a play for D for Drama?

I have known Kumud (co-founder D for Drama) for decades. We have worked together on various projects including a couple of plays and the show Tripling which I wrote and acted in as well. It had been a while since I had done a new play. He came across the script of The Sunshine Boys by Neil Simon and at the same time, Prithvi Fest had asked the group to open a play. He sent me the script to read and I fell in love with it. We were clear from the outset that we will have to adapt it because it is American in the way it is.

You have been busy with shooting commitments. Did it take long to get back to the energy of theatre?

I have spent a big part of my life doing theatre, adapting, directing plays, acting in them - so being in the space of doing rehearsals and mounting a play is a bit of a physical memory; it all comes back to you within a day or two. What did take time was to realise how long it takes to build a set. I have been doing a lot more work in cinema and in the web space for the past 8-10 years where they have money and the resources to get things done even at the last minute as opposed to theatre where you have to plan everything in advance in order to find the most economical way to do it. You have to innovate in every way which is quite exciting.

What did you find exciting about the play?

There are certain plays which you open at a certain stage and age in life and continue doing their shows for years and decades at times. For instance, there is a Manav Kaul play called Park which opened in 2007 with Kumud, Shubhrajyoti and me. I must have been in my mid-20s and Shubhro’s kid was really young. Now his son is studying law and we are still doing the play! We say the same lines and approach the same text but there is a lot more life that has happened in these years which adds to what we say and feel on stage. That aspect of theatre has always fascinated me and that is what a lot of Purane Chawal is. It is about these two famous theatre actors who have done plays together – one in particular for 42 years – and they have a bitter fallout and meet again after 10-11 years. When you have worked with anyone for that long, it is like a marriage. It is a life you have shared with them and that part of the play really fascinated me.

You have acted alongside these actors. How was it to direct Kumud and Shubhrajyoti?

I have grown up in front of them! I joined theatre in 2000 when I was just 17. Shubhro has really seen me grow up over the years and likewise with Kumud. The great part about them is that their wealth of experience is never a hindrance when you are working with them because they are so open and eager to know what you want them to do. It is something to learn from - how to unlearn everything each time. To have a kid who has grown up in front of you telling you what he needs and they are open enough to try it. It is very humbling for me.

Actors Kumud Mishra (right) and Shubhrajyoti Barat in the D for Drama play, Purane Chawal.

Theatre requires a lot of time and commitment and you have been shooting for cinema/OTT for a while. What made you want to direct again?

It is very important for artists to revisit the basics. The number of things I have learnt, discovered and experienced in this month or two of doing the play is sheer wealth which enriches you as an artist. It helps you create better things in future.

Permanent Roommates season 3 came out recently and received so much appreciation. While there are plenty of shows on relationships and love, why does this one continue to get so much love? Do you credit the writing, the performances or the direction?

All of it, most importantly the writing because that is the base of the show. The show was never made to impress anyone. It was made with a lot of heart. For the first season, we were paid almost as much as we do in theatre! (laughs) At the time, web series as a medium did not exist. It was the first web series of India, so clearly nobody had any model of how we are going to recover the cost. The intent was right and over the years, we have kept that right - that we will have a new season only when we really have a story to tell. It is the energy that the core team has that has attracted the cast. The important thing was to make a show which is like a happy space or a release space, the way we felt when we watched Friends or Dekh Bhai Dekh.

Your character Mikesh is so goofy and playful, but there is a scene in which he breaks down in front of his mother and partner. Can you tell us what was going on in your mind at the time?

You tap into certain fears you have as a human being. I’m at that stage where I see my parents getting old every day. I don’t want to lose them. One is that and the second is the way you approach your craft. We only did one take of the scene and they were kind enough to be so prepared that we only did it once and got around 80-90 per cent in one go. On the day of the shoot I sensed that everyone was aware that we were going to shoot that scene, so I started distracting myself. I did not want to be in that space because that’s not how it happens in life. You don’t prepare all day because you are going to have a breakdown in the evening. You go about your life and then something happens which really shakes you up. So I wanted to enter the scene with a light energy and then let it happen to me and see how far it can go.

You were last seen in Sajni Shinde Ka Viral Video. What’s next? What do you enjoy more – writing, acting or direction?

I am writing the fourth season of Tripling now. As for what I enjoy most - once an actor, always an actor. Acting is cathartic for me. Having said that, I grew up working in a theatre company and people in my generation didn’t come there just to act. I have light design, production design, costumes etc when I was not acting in a play. That is the school I come from. I never thought that if I don’t act then I won’t work. I don’t operate like that.

Purane Chawal at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu on November 7, 6 pm and 9 pm