Makarand Deshpande and Niladri Kumar talk about their new collaboration

Niladri Kumar and Makarand Deshpande were at their candid best as they bonded over food Mumbai and the performing arts at Versova Social PicsShadab khanAt the leafy terrace section of Versova Social veteran theatre artiste Makarand Deshpande peruses the menu for a good five minutes Not in the mood for heavy or meaty fare he settles for an Irani Omelette and Watermelon Vs Feta salad I eat fish but of late I have been enjoying vegetarian fare more he reveals When we ask if he is naturally lean he shares his secret I always eat in moderation In fact I dont do anything extreme except theatreAs we wait for Niladri Kumar to join us for lunch Makarand is all praise for the sitar player whom he has recently collaborated with for his production Patni where he delivers a monologue with situational music lent by Niladri Music is emotion picturised And Niladri is a master of his instrument When he plays the sitar it stirs something within you smiles MakarandNiladri arrives soon after the first order reaches our tableMakarand The star is here Niladri Whats this that you are having I see watermelon and feta takes a dig has some more What do you get to eat hereMakarand Everything Its madnessNiladri Is this the menu Picks up the tabloidshaped menu Wow this is like middayMakarand pointing to the Irani Omelette Yeh kamaal haiNiladri takes a bite Ill have this too Just make it spicierSnigdha Youve spent so much time together even your food choices have aligned How did Patni come about Niladri What intrigued me about Makarand bhai was his zeal for theatre The way he is on stage I could relate to that in some degree because thats how I feel about music After I saw him in a play I decided to meet him regardless of the outcome We then met over a bite like today The conversation just flowedhelliphow we laughed The spirit was such that we knew we could work togetherMakarand How many people can you laugh your heart out with in the first meeting When you share your passion for art cinema music politics and food and can talk about it with a sprinkling of laughter that is the best place to be in for a collaborationThe omelette Chinese Bhel Almond Tikki Chaat arriveSnigdha What was it like to be born in a house resounding with musicNiladri At home it was all about music its culture and stories musicians the etiquette that comes with music I remember my father would get annoyed with me because I wouldnt say Namaste to our guests When I stepped out of home everybody said Hi or Hello so it was a different atmosphere altogether But eventually I realised Namaste is probably the best greeting in the world When you start being exposed to the world you realise how great our culture and some of the systems around our culture areI remember Pandit Ravi Shankarjis visits to our home fondly He used to love homecooked food He was a true Bengali at heart Around 2010 he was 90 then I had a meal with him He ate everything from fish to Bengali saags and dal Imagine him being exposed to what not in the world and still enjoying his rootsMakarand I was a true Bandra boy By that I mean I was surrounded by Catholics Sindhis Sikhs Jains and Muslims Ashutosh Gowariker lived a few lanes away When you are raised in such an atmosphere it doesnt matter what your religion is I also played juniorlevel cricket for Bombay I dont know how I became an actor but I loved life At 18 at the peak of my cricket career I realised one day Ill have to retire and I didnt want that to happen I acted in films but it was getting monotonous With theatre I found an art close to my life And when that happened I didnt have to look outsideSnigdha With so much experimentation are the arts breaking freeMakarand People now have a camera in their hands Drama unfolds through Twitter and SMSes Alternate spaces are coming up Performances can happen right here in this restaurant The point is you should do caricatures only when you know how to make portraits First you must know your work in its simplest form and then enjoy complicating itNiladri Kya baat hai This is true for every field You cant forget the foundation For the Zitar to be thought up the sitar must be mastered first