Back in business a quarter century later

Mail Today, Friday, May 9, 2008
Karanjeet Kaur

It could not have been easy for Ramesh Mehta to be ignored by a media constantly on the look- out for fresh, young faces. Yet, this 85- year- old playwright and actor seems to have no grudges. Mehta was part of the Three Arts Club, formed in pre- Independent India by Late Om Sharma, Late R M Kaul and Late Devi Chand Kayasth and a group of government employees. After an extremely successful run, the club closed down almost a quarter of a century ago and is now being revived by Anuradha Dar, daughter of R M Kaul. Born and brought up in Jammu and Kashmir, Mehta’s first brush with theatre came with a role in Hanuman’s vanar sena at the local Ramlila, as a child. The main attraction was not the chance to act, but the prospect of boondi prasad that was handed out after every performance. After that, it was only as a young rationing inspector that Mehta got a chance to be a part of theatre with the Three Arts Club. While initially content to play a behind- the- scenes role of a prompter, Mehta soon graduated to acting when one of the actors fell ill. With no tradition of Hindi theatre to fall back on, the club realised that it needed a playwright – and Mehta stepped in. His plays dealt with social issues such as the dowry system and corruption. India Today, Dahej, Dastoori and Faisla soon became successful for this reason, and the group even put up a performance for Pandit Nehru. Now, Mehta guides the group’s productions Paisa Bolta Hai, Under Secretary and Bade Admi , that will be staged at the Shri Ram Centre starting May 11. With a new cast and crew, how does he think theatre has changed? Mehta rues the fact that theatre has now become a professional activity – he believes that the amateur form of theatre is the best way to get one’s message across.