Theatre missing marketing: Akarsh

HYDERABAD: A Special Bond, an adaption of Ruskin Bond’s stories, was staged for the first time in the city on Monday at the Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Fest. The show in Hyderabad is the play’s 50th show ever since it was first staged in 2007. Akarsh Khurana, who has given the screenplay for Bollywood films Krrish, U Me aur Hum, Kites and Krrish 2, has directed this play. It is produced by AKVARIOUS productions, founded by his father and veteran actor Akash Khurana. A Special Bond is an adventure story of a boy from a city who goes on a journey to an ancestral land in a hill station. Akarsh Khurana, who has directed four children’s plays till now, has less to complain and more to appreciate. He dismisses the popular opinion that not much is being contributed to children’s literature. “There’s abundant children’s literature available. Not many pick it up,” says Akarsh who appreciates young talent in the field working to enrich the experience of theatre in India. He loves contemporary writers. Many of the plays he has directed are based on stories of contemporary writers. One of the popular plays of the productions ‘The Interview’ has been written by Siddharth Kumar, one of the team members. Akarsh however expresses concern about marketing strategies of the theatre and the financial isolation in whioch the field is functioning at present. Theatre personalities have focused more on their creativity and little on marketing, till now. As a result, people are not aware of the theatre, he feels. “Many people think that plays are serious. How will they know unless they step in to watch a play? We need to draw people,” says Akarsh giving a comparison with the marketing approach of films which draw the audience. “Many films are bad but due to their good marketing, they draw the audience to the cinema,” he points out. Has the theatre also distanced itself by becoming elitist in approach? He disagrees saying tickets for a play are much cheaper than tickets for a movie in a mall. He hopes that the government would participate more in encouraging theatre financially. “We do not have external support. It has become a combat to stay alive,” he says.