Ind-E-Focus

Do you feel that Theatre is a forgotten medium? That television and film are dominating the entertainment industry? It is proving more difficult to survive in the business world of theatre; traditional methods of funding have to be abandoned for new, inventive ways of thriving in a dying business.
Here, The Deccan Herald learns about Indian producer Ashvin Gidwani’s new corporatisation of theatre.

Ashvin Gidwani who has been involved in the theatre field for many years now, has started corporatisation of theatre and what’s more, he has taken it to new levels.
 
Even as theatre holds its own against the incessant onslaught of television, Bollywood and other forms of entertainment, the field, till date, continues to suffer from lack of funds. And for artists who dream of making a career in theatre, the struggle for survival seems a perpetual one. Listen to Ashvin Gidwani discussing theatre however, and you know that he is not just a mere producer trying to gather funds for his plays, but someone who has made theatre his business and literally at that. Ashvin, who has been involved in the theatre field for many years now, has started corporatisation of theatre and what more; he has taken it to new levels.

“A producer’ is not just someone to put his money; the work itself is an art form. Theatre was pushed to a corner after television and films dominated our lives. I am now running my theatre production house as per a carefully devised business model, and by that, I am able to stage my productions not just across India, but internationally as well,” he says. In the last eight years, Ashvin’s production house has come out with plays like ‘Funny Thing Called Love’, ‘Mad About Money’,  ‘Arre Mad About Money’ (Hindi version), ‘Birthday Suite’, ‘Misal Pav’ etc. “Initially I was overzealous, and lacking in exposure. I have gone bankrupt thrice in the course of my work. When we started taking our work to other countries, I understood the concept of corporate funding and came out with this business model,” he says.

Ashvin stages his plays at three levels. He subsidises the play for public performances in different cities. Besides, he also holds a number of private shows for corporate clients. He next stages, what he calls, the NRI theatre. “At this level, we take the production to other countries for an international audience,” he says.  His plays like ‘Punch-a-tantra’ and ‘Funny Thing Called Love’ have been staged in the Middle East, Europe, USA and the Far East.

He feels that while good theatre is happening, the field is not structured and organised. “There isn’t a proper distribution network, which means that artists don’t get paid well. In countries like England, the government is heavily involved in promoting theatre; the country has around 4,000 theatre halls. Here, all the efforts are from private trusts. The government involvement is hardly there,” he says. He adds that for theatre to flourish, the government has to subsidise theatre completely. “Right now, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Delhi are the only states, where theatre is comparatively well off,” he says.

About Bangalore, Ashvin is candid. “It’s a great city, and places like Ranga Shankara are doing good work, but not people many are willing to pay here. Bangloreans have to learn to start paying when they see good stuff,” he says. Ashvin’s forthcoming productions include ‘Double Deal’, ‘City of Dreams’, and ‘The Alchemist’. “We will be bringing these plays to Bangalore from December onwards every month,” says Ashvin. He feels that corporatisation of theatre is the way of future, and the government needs to pump in more funds to take theatre to new levels.

“We have to start thinking in terms of theatres with international standards, infrastructural allocation and huge productions,” he concludes. 

(Source:deccanherald.com - In The Business of Theatre by Vasumita S)