How theatre actor Deshik Vansadia aims to bring William Shakespeare alive in India

Ten years ago playwright and theatre actor Deshik Vansadia mdash then in his early 20s mdash chanced upon a book by renowned American acting coach Stella Adler titled The Art of Acting ldquoWhen I read Adlerrsquos book I knew this was exactly what I wanted to dordquo he recalls But having been raised in a traditional Gujarati household in the small town of Navsari he was aware that his plans wouldnrsquot quite take flight ldquoUnless I ran away from homerdquo he says as he holds back that sheepish grin ldquoAnd I kind of did thatrdquoPicPradeep DhivarToday as Mumbaibased Vansadia looks back at that moment he has no regrets The 32yearold has just wrapped up the recording of his radio play mdash William Shakespearersquos Measure for Measure mdash for All India Radio AIR The play is already on air and will be broadcast through May to mark the writerrsquos 400th death anniversary Vansadia who is an alumnus of the Stella Adler Academy of Acting Los Angeles and Shakespeare and Company Massachusetts remembers lying to his parents about pursuing a Masters in Engineering in the US He left home for LA soon after but was forced to bag his engineering degree when a friend of the family spilled the beans on himVansadia performing a scene from Shakespearersquos CymbelineThat didnrsquot hold him back ldquoI enrolled into acting school after completing my mastersrdquo he addsBut it was only in 2010 that Vansadia found his true calling Bagging the lead role of Romeo in the Shakespearian tragedy Romeo and Juliet did the trickldquoIt was a lifechanging experiencerdquo he says ldquoGrowing up in Gujarat I remember being timid Now here I was playing Romeo on stage and speaking passionate bold and vulnerable lines It robbed me of my shy self and made me more open to approaching women Thanks to Shakespearehellip I was a whole new beingrdquo says VansadiaWhat pulled Vansadia to the literary geniusrsquo masterpieces was the language ldquoShakespearersquos language is so human that it makes it very easy to connect with And his characters are relatable Though they were written hundreds of years ago they still feel realrdquo adds VansadiaWhen Vansadia returned to India three years ago he only had one mission at hand ldquoI wanted to bring more of Shakespeare to Indiardquo he says adding that there is a dearth of original works of the playwright being performed in IndiaHe is especially unhappy about the many Shakespearean adaptations on celluloid ldquoNone of Shakespearersquos stories were original They were either borrowed or stolen from works of other playwrights What he brought to these stories was the languageldquoIf you do Shakespeare and donrsquot use his language then you are technically doing an old Elizabethan playrdquo he arguesSince 2013 Vansadia has been actively engaged with several schools in the city where he has been teaching and directing Shakespearersquos playsHe has also been involved with the Drama School of Mumbai and directed a production of Shakespeare for the theatre company Ninasam in Heggodu Karanataka called The Asylum of Shakespeare There the company brought together all the mad characters mdash Hamlet King Lear Ophelia Lady Macbeth among others mdash etched by the playwrightIn March when he was approached to direct and act in a play for AIR Vansadia thought it to be the perfect platform to showcase Shakespearersquos work The play went on air in the last week of April ldquoOn radio everything has to be expressed through the voice I ensured that I didnrsquot change the language but added a narrator to link one scene with the other so that the audience knew what was happeningrdquo he saysFollowing the response he got for his radio play he hopes that the original works of Shakespeare are received with greater enthusiasm and performed across all platforms ldquoHis language needs to liverdquo