Interview: Farooq Sheikh wanted to do that show till his/her last breath, he/she became emotional – Firoz Abbas Khan

Farukh Sheikh and Rekha’s romantic scene was being shot, the villagers got angry and took out their guns, know the story

First time opportunity to act in Taj Mahal

Recalling the memories of ‘Tumhari Amrita’ and Farooq Sheikh, he/she says, ‘There are many memories of this play from the past two decades, but there is one such memory which I have never forgotten. Even today, my heart fills up with emotion as soon as I remember it. Since this play was short, we never performed it outdoors. We always used to perform it indoors. But then in 1993, we got a chance to perform it in the quadrangular of the historic Taj Mahal. Before this, no play had ever got this golden opportunity. When the play began, the sun was above the Taj Mahal and by the time the second half of the play reached, it was a moonlit night. That day, 6 thousand people watched this play together for the first time.’

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‘I would like to do this show till my last breath’, Farooq Sheikh cried saying this

he/she further said, ‘It was a cold December evening. The show was a superhit. We were all sitting after the show. Shabana said, ‘Farukh, we have grown old now. Now we will have to hand over this show to new people.’ To this Farukh said, ‘No Shabana, we will do this show even while being in a wheel chair. I would like to do this show till my last breath.’ Saying this, he/she became very emotional. For the first time, he/she asked me for the pictures of the play. You see, this was the last show of ‘Tumhari Amrita’. After that, the play could never be shown.’

‘There is no chance of nepotism in theatre’

Firoz Abbas Khan says about his/her theatre journey, ‘When I did ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, even then people said that you do small plays like ‘Tumhari Amrita’ and ‘Salesman Rampal’, then what is this grandeur now because I also did ‘Civilization to Nation’ which was even more grand than ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, so I keep on showing different forms of theatre. I do not want to limit myself to any limits. When I did ‘Tumhari Amrita’, there were two characters in it, Shabana Azmi and Farooq Sheikh, then in ‘Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai’, I experimented with Anupam Kher alone. I want to do all kinds of plays, but I love small and intimate plays. I keep in mind the target, acting and audience.

Rajkumar Hirani’s son auditioned for ‘Letters of Suresh’

I kept the same thing in mind in ‘Letters of Suresh’. Its casting also happened very naturally. Director Rajkumar Hirani’s son Veer Hirani is in the lead role in it. Veer had contacted me for this play. I did not cast him/her because he/she is Raju Hirani’s son, I had properly auditioned him/her for the role. There is no chance of nepotism in theatre. Only the deserving will get a chance. he/she proved to be perfect and while working with him/her I felt that he/she is an extraordinary actor. Veer has taken a diploma from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art).’