Returning to the stage after over two decades can be a surreal feeling. What makes it all the more fulfilling for Ashutosh Rana is that he has come back with Humare Ram, in which he plays Ravana. “Playing Ravana has been my dream role,” smiles the actor, who has been travelling with the play since last year and completed 160 shows.
Retelling the Ramayana today is not easy as it invites intense scrutiny and controversies. But Rana believes that if one stays true to the epic, the audience will embrace it. “We feel that playing Ravana means playing a negative role. But here, you won’t see him in a negative light, and we have managed to do it without changing the story of Ramayana. We haven’t done any chhed-chhaad [alterations],” he states. The key, he believes, lies in using the “right language”. “We have to take care of the language we use. Ram has a certain language, as does Ravana. All the characters should be played with grace. We cannot play around with how we tell the story because people are emotionally connected to it. There is no room for misinterpretations,” he asserts.
The actor adds that the revered epics were told from one generation to another with the idea of uplifting them—a factor that should be kept in mind. “We should stay true in the storytelling and give it utmost respect. We cannot play with people’s sentiments. I have written a book [Ramrajya, 2020], which has won the Sahitya Akademi Award. I make sure that the message going out through my work is authentic and not corrupted by ‘masala’ elements. It’s important we take care of all the nuances because we are [exploring] an important subject.”
Even as his date diary is filled with Humare Ram, with shows in Mumbai lined up for next week, the senior actor is juggling movies with it. While he was recently seen in Loveyapa, Rana also features in this week’s offering, Chhaava, led by Vicky Kaushal. Does the balancing act get tough? “There is no question on how I balance my work. It’s only about acting in different mediums. I’m spending all my time on my emotions, profession, and education, and I enjoy doing it. Acting is my passion. If you can spend your time doing what you love, I believe that is the greatest kind of freedom and happiness,” he says.
