monalisa patsani
post news network
Bhubaneswar, Nov 8: Known for the characters Mungerilal, Mulla Nasiruddin and Chacha Chaudhary renowned actor Raghubir Yadav is also a singer, music composer and set designer.
Yadav was in the city to perform in the play ‘Piano’ at the Purva Ranga National Theatre Festival when Orissa POST got an opportunity to interact with him.
Initially, he wanted to be a singer during his youth, but he was destined to be an actor, and a good one. “When I was a kid, I used to observe hawkers who sang on the streets, and I did my best to copy them. When I joined the National School of Drama (NSD), I realised that a theatre artiste needed to know not only the art of acting, but also singing, composing and set designing. “
Having established himself as a successful actor in television series and movies, he feels theatre is the best medium to present the art. “Everything is live in theatre. There is no scope for mistakes here,” he adds.
He says that a theatre artiste’s primary aim is to satisfy him with good acting. However, he is of the opinion that he has not achieved the satisfaction that he desires, and is yet to play his ‘dream role’.
In times when achieving stardom is every actor’s dream, he believes the term ‘superstar’ does not hold much relevance to him. Sharing his dislike for commercial movies as it lacks ‘art’, he says: “One has to do lots of commercial movies to be a ‘star’, and this is not what I desire for. I just want to remain an artist and continue learning.
Even though, he found his niche in acting, but his love to sing never subsided. He gave his voice for songs ‘Mehngai Dayain’ and ‘Des Mera’, which have a folk touch, for the Aamir Khan production Peepli Live. “I love folk songs as they are more soulful. I listened to folk singers when I was asked to perform in a song for the movie and improvised on it. I made small changes, but did my best to retain its soul.”
Whenever he is in stress or is disappointed, he plays musical instruments that he makes from various materials. “I make and play them. I am a trained craftsman and, as such, I have made more than 1500 flutes with different designs and also Rababs, which is a traditional instrument. Music and musical instruments give me satisfaction and are meditation to me,” he says.
Terming the controversy of Pakistani actors performing in India as ‘baseless’, he said: “An artiste belongs to the whole universe and it is wrong to judge them on the basis of caste, religion or which country he belong to as he is not bothered by it. Some people make it an issue for their personal benefits.”
His portrayal in ‘Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne’ and ‘Mulla Nasiruddin’ became so popular that people often addresse him either as Mungerilal or Mulla Nasiruddin. “I don’t like when people address me as Mungerilal, whereas I love it when they call me Mulla Nasiruddin. The character of Mulla was more appealing and, moreover, I never liked the name Mungerilal.”
Yadav shares a memory from his past when he once failed his school examination and ran away from his home at the age of 15 because he was too afraid to face his father. “I was very weak in education, so found running away as the best option. But now children have lots of options. So my suggestion to them would be talk to their parents and complete their education,” he suggests.
He looks very excited talking about his upcoming venture ‘Bhouri’, a movie directed by Jasbir Bharti, which will be releasing soon. “I am very optimistic that people will like the movie’s concept, where we made an attempt to show the condition of women in a male dominated society,” he adds.
