JOIN USShed the age-old take on old age
After the premiere of the play Mr & Mrs Murarilal in Mumbai, film producer-director Subhash Ghai messaged the play’s lead actor, Satish Kaushik, “The play tells you how to laugh in your loneliness.”
Indeed, this Saif Hyder Hasan-directed play does exactly that. A poignant tale of three elderly, lonely figures coming together by chance in a beautifully landscaped park, it makes light of a plight that many senior citizens face — being neglected by family members who are too wrapped up in their own lives to sparesome comfort time for their parents or grandparents.
Actor Satish Kaushik, better known for his comic screen-personas like Calendar (Mr India), Kashiram (Ram Lakhan) and a host of others, plays the pivotal, serious-jolly Mr Murarilal, a retired army cook who puts up a jovial front, foot-tapping to old Hindi film songs. We catch up with the actor to talk about the latest feather in his cap...
You are known for making viewers laugh. What attracted you to a character who has sacrificed his whole life for family members and yet is all alone in his autumn years?
I decided to do this play because of its profundity. A lot of people look upon old age as a burden, but Mr & Mrs Murarilal celebrates old age. It says that after
gathering a lifetime of both, happy and not-so-happy experiences, you must learn to live life for yourself, and live it fully, doing what you enjoy most. My character, Murarilal, has been let down by the family he nurtured, but he doesn’t brood. Instead, he packs up sandwiches and picnics in a park where he sings old Hindi film songs, breaks into dance, and even flirts with another lonely soul who calls herself Mrs Murarilal (played by Meghna Malik). These are not our real names. We adopt them for fun. The two develop such a bond during the course of one night that they can even joke about sex and other so-called taboo topics. When Mrs Murarilal asks him, “When did you last cry?” he retorts, “Ask me when I last had sex.” And she sportingly obliges. Delightful moments... In my growing-up years in Delhi, I saw elderly couples from Western countries with backpacks, sun hats and walking sticks, enthusiastically visiting historical sights like the Lal Qilla and the Qutub Minar, undeterred by age; and I would marvel at their energy levels. This is why I could identify with director Saif’s story about senior citizens who want to enjoy life.
Have you personally seen the loneliness of the elderly?
Yes, I have. In fact, I often feel guilty about how I did not devote much time to my father. I was so caught up with my career in Mumbai that I could not be beside him when he was old and had lost his memory. This guilt lessened a little when I invited my mother to stay with me. Now that I am no longer struggling to establish a career, I try to make up for my past behaviour by spending time with my older brothers and sisters. I have realised the benefits of the joint family system in which the seniors are given their due, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. But I’ve also realised that lifestyles have changed, and so the older generation must not hinge its happiness on youngsters, who have their own compulsions. Instead, it must enjoy life and uninhibitedly do what it most enjoys.
Did the play affect you as a person?
As an actor, I’ve learnt a lot from this play. Earlier, even though I had done plays written by stalwarts like Brecht, Ibsen, Eugene O’Neill, Gorky, Vijay Tendulkar and Arthur Miller, I just mouthed dialogues. This play has made me realise that acting is not just about learning the text, but projecting the subtext as well. That’s how I ended up improvising many of my dialogues. Personally, the play has taught me to take greater care of my body. I have cut down on drinks and partying, and have started working out at the gym. These days, I enjoy talking to young and talented people who are half my age because I learn so much from them.
Do you feel our country lacks facilities for senior citizens?
Yes, I wish we had comfortable, sophisticated homes for them where they can read books, watch films or join classes to learn new skills like music, painting etc; homes where they can celebrate the last stage of their lives. As you grow older, your skills get honed, so our seniors should be given the opportunity to keep these skills alive.
If you had to choose between enacting Kashiram, for which you won a Filmfare award, and Murarilal, which one would you choose?
I have enjoyed playing both the types, and I’d like to continue doing all kinds of roles. I would do both. My zest for acting hasn’t decreased. In fact, my appetite for doing good work is increasing by the day.