Once Im on stage, nobody can stop me, says actor Amol Parashar

Actor Amol Parashar won hearts and minds with his recent one-man show Besharam Aadmi in Bengaluru on Sunday. The event also marks his return to theatre after a decade of doing films, TV and OTT shows. The quirky comedy follows a character who sees himself as a progressive man with no hang-ups about sharing chores with his wife, even washing her lingerie without a second thought. But when his mother arrives for the first time one morning, he is unable to summon his coolness, he becomes self-conscious. Suddenly he is unable to live up to his own ideas of modern marriages. Hes confused, stressed and this piece becomes a self exploration is this stemming from his ideas of masculinity, some other social pressure, or is it about the display of intimacy and comfort around his parents, explains Parashar. Despite exploring what it means to be a man today, Parashar shares that it was important that the play does not prioritise delivering a message. Especially while saying something serious, it should be said in a fun way. Otherwise, I would just write an Instagram post about my ideas around shame or masculinity. If people are going to watch you alone on stage you dont want to lecture them, he says. Parashar is also the co-creator of the play, having self-produced it and been involved closely in everything from rewrites, set design, marketing and deciding venues. Admitting his apprehensions, he says, There are, of course, doubts if Ill be able to pull it off. But because I practically lived on stage from 2005 to 2015, my natural instinct kicked in. It feels like home, because thats where my connection with storytelling started. Keeping an audience engaged for 75 minutes is no easy feat but this instinct has held true for Parashar here as well. He reveals the key to pulling it off, saying, Its like a chord between the performer and the audience. You can always sense the tension you feel it when its getting loose and theyre not with you. Prepping for his roles as bad boy prince Abhimanyu Raisingh in Kull or idealistic Dr Prabhat Singh in Gram Chikitsalay, was very different from his role in Besharam Aadmi, reveals Parashar. For camera, I get into the head of the director and writer what do they want from me?, he says, adding, Besharam Aadmi is me fulfilling my own vision. Film is a directors medium and stage is an actors medium. Once Im on stage, nobody can stop me. These same OTT characters, though, have given Parashar a newfound heartthrob status with his social media flooded with thirst comments from fans. What is he making of this sudden attention? It is good that this attention didnt come when I was 21 because I dont know how that would have affected my ego. I would have believed every word, he laughs and adds, Im still trying to figure why I would be so hot suddenly because my ideas of hot are different. It is possible that those ideas, fed by mainstream culture of what a hero that women fall for, were wrong and weve all been chasing that. I think this is coming from a place of loving my work or my being a nice person.