Theatre actors Shernaz Patel and Dilnaz Irani were in the city to perform in the Rage production of Rona Munro’s award-winning play Iron, directed by Arghya Lahiri, at GD Birla Sabhagar on August 25. Iron, set in a prison, revolves around a mother and her daughter who meet after 15 years. They are haunted by memory, scarred by time. t2 caught up with Shernaz and Dilnaz for a chat at Foxtrail on Camac Street…

What’s Iron all about?

Shernaz Patel: It’s set in a prison. My character’s name is Faye and Dilnaz is Josie. I’ve been in prison for the last 15 years, accused of killing my husband. Josie walks into my life after 15 years. We go back to the past, by opening up our memories and what we shared. It’s like a floodgate…

Dilnaz Irani: It’s sort of a reunion between the mother and the daughter. After 15 years, that’s where the play unravels. 

How was it being directed by Arghya Lahiri?

Dilnaz: I’ve worked with Arghya earlier in plays like The Birthday Party, Three Ladies of Ibsen and Crab, and it has always been lovely. The way he squeezes things out of you, as an actor, is great. He pushes you till you think you can go and then he pushes you some more, but without seeming like he has pushed you. The exploration of not just characters but also of words and text that you get to do with him is amazing.

Shernaz: There is a great detailing in the work that Arghya does. A lot of directors’ work can be like broad strokes… but Arghya goes into every minute detail and pushes your boundaries. He really makes you enjoy the process of rehearsals. It’s hard work but it’s good work. Every day we were either discovering new things or trying out new things. It’s great when the rehearsal room is so alive!

How many hours in a day did you guys rehearse?

Shernaz: On and off, we rehearsed for three-and-a-half months. But we had gaps in between because we all do other things. Normally we’d rehearse for around four hours a day.

Have you worked with each other before?

Shernaz: I’ve known Dilnaz since she was a teenaged girl. She was in one of the most successful plays by Rage’s production, called I’m not Bajirao (1996). That’s when Dilnaz came into our lives and into theatre. We did another play called Six Degrees of Separation. We are working together after a long time.

What has changed since then?

Shernaz: In I’m not Bajirao, I was only the producer. I wasn’t acting with her on stage. She has grown exponentially as an actor. It’s a real joy to work with her on stage.

Dilnaz: For me, these are the people I started theatre with. It’s beautiful to be working with them again.

Since when are you touring with Iron?

Shernaz: We opened last November at the Prithvi Theatre Festival. But we haven’t done too many shows. We keep revisiting every few months and do a show here and there. It’s a difficult play, not a play that one can do commercially. But we keep trying to do it whenever we can. We are very happy to be here in Calcutta. 

What do you like about Calcutta?

Shernaz: I’ve been coming to Calcutta since 1980s. My parents (Gujarati stage veterans Ruby and Burjor Patel) are both from the Bombay theatre circuit. I used to come here with them when they used to perform. We would always stay at Lytton Hotel or Kenilworth Hotel. We would go to markets and buy sweets! I’ve been to Calcutta many times.

Dilnaz: I like performing in Calcutta. It’s a different audience than in Bombay. It’s a very intellectual audience and that’s the thrill of it. They absorb it a lot more differently. 

Shernaz, you’re a veteran thespian. How would you describe your journey on stage?

Shernaz: It’s still carrying on… it’s nowhere near over. I’m not ready to put up my boots at all. It’s been great and I’m blessed. Every day I know that I’m working and that I’m not having to struggle to perform or to express myself. I feel really sad for actors who don’t have work. The desire and need to perform in an artiste is so strong and when you don’t have work, it’s sad. Thankfully, I’ve never had that problem. 

Dilnaz, you worked in Vikram Bhatt’s web series Twisted 2 where you play a cop. How was that experience like?

Dilnaz: It’s already out! I’m playing a CBI investigator. I just found out few days back that the first episode has crossed eight million views!

As stage actors, how different is it for you to face the camera?

Shernaz: For me, it’s the same. The technique changes, that’s all. One is live, one is not. One is intimate in terms of a camera, the other isn’t. But in terms of arriving to the truth of your character or working on your character, as an actor you should be doing the same work. You should be as truthful, irrespective of whatever medium you’re in. I honestly love them all. I love exploring different mediums.

Does the theatre background help you while facing the camera?

Dilnaz: For sure. There is an advantage and I won’t deny that. I’m so glad that when I go to a film set, I say proudly that I come from theatre. This is what I come with, so don’t mess with me (laughs).

Has the way the audience views theatre evolved over the years?

Shernaz: Not really. I think it goes through phases, like a phase where everyone would just do bedroom comedies because it was successful, then came the Indian voice where everyone wanted people to talk in Indian accents. Now there’s this phase of devising plays, like looking at a concept and making a play around it. I think the audience size has increased, at least in Bombay, like we are being able to do more shows of our plays than we could before. 

Shernaz, your play Love Letters (directed by Rahul da Cunha), with Rajit Kapur is one of your longest-running plays, since 1992. It’s also one of the most loved plays. How has the play evolved over the years? 

Shernaz: Yes, it’s been 26 years! The script is identical, it hasn’t changed. Every few years, a whole new generation watches it. I think generation after generation, we are all suckers for love. That’s never out of fashion. Though, nobody writes letters anymore. It’s lovely for Rajit and me because we anyway go from an age of eight to 70 in the play, so now the older parts are easier to play. There was a time when we used to pretend to be older but now we are there (laughs). We have changed with different life experiences, so we are bringing different things to the table. 

What’s coming up next?

Dilnaz: I worked on two web series — Ragini MMS: Returns and Twisted 2. I have a film releasing next month called Hotel Milan with Kunaal Roy Kapur. I also worked in an Indo-French film called Sir that went to Cannes this year. And, lots of plays! I don’t think plays can ever stop. It’s an addiction… ek baar woh keeda katta hai toh you can’t get rid of it.

Shernaz: I’m shooting for a British television show called The Good Karma Hospital for ITV. It’s fun work.

What has been the biggest learning from theatre?

Shernaz: Incredible focus, concentration, the ability to be in the moment and the ability to be spontaneous. Truthfulness too, because you’re always digging for that truth of a character — though that’s not just necessarily for theatre actors, that’s for any actor. There’s a great high in being live — that’s a big nasha for theatre actors. It’s all for today and tomorrow will be different. 

Dilnaz: I think that everything that I am now has come from theatre. I really wouldn’t be able to tell you the top qualities I have because of theatre because my whole personality has been shaped because of it. I learnt hardwork and going through with things without being pampered; it’s okay if we don’t have a vanity van. It’s all about the acting, nothing else.