A room big enough for 30 people. Some 20 actors sit on the floor. And only a few from the crew sit in the corner, idly plucking their musical paraphernalia. While one man in the front assists this team, we wait alongside for one of the final rehearsals of Ek Punjab Yeh Bhi to begin at Prithvi House in Juhu. Does an intimate theatre space bound by thick black curtains stir us more to immediate drama waiting in the wings? Pulled into the energy of the room, an exercise puzzles us. Actors sit cross-legged, eyes shut and at an arm’s distance from one another. They call out numbers — one, two, three in quick succession — but overlaps aren’t allowed. The first few efforts are bumpy. But soon enough, they reach the number 27 without cutting each other short. This induction into synergy and harmony demands looking beyond one’s self — a crucial lesson in acting.

A still from Shareeka