Writer-director of TVF Tripling and Mismatched Akarsh Khurana shares how he found solace in theatre

“Theatre producer, director, and a reluctant actor.”

Those are the words Akarsh Khurana would use to describe himself. 

Son of veteran actor Akash Khurana, the former is the proprietor of renowned theatre company Akvarious Productions. Having staged over 1,400 shows of 75 plays across 30 Indian and international cities, Khurana’s body of work extends beyond just that.

His plays Dekh Behen, The Interview, All About Women, and The Verdict (an adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner) deal with contemporary subjects, representing his love for slice-of-life content and all things relatable to the average person.

While Khurana dons many hats—juggling between the creative mediums of theatre, films and OTT like a charm, his flair for multi-tasking reflects in this conversation as he navigates different subjects with such ease.

Growing up in a house where art was always at the fore, Khurana began taking part in dramatics in school and by the time he reached college, he had begun acting and directing plays. 

For Khurana, the turning point in his career came when he entered Thespo-India’s premier international youth theatre movement in the year 2000. He ended up taking part in the festival for three consecutive years, thus setting off a long career. 

In 2002, Akvarious Productions started travelling, doing more shows and eventually managing to get to Mumbai’s Prithvi Theatre and NCPA. “For the first two years, we were doing several plays a year, doing everything we could. It took us a few years to realise we were doing too much and needed to streamline,” he says in a freewheeling chat with YS Life. “But we hadn’t necessarily found our voice,” he says candidly.  

In 2010, the production house staged the play The Interview, and after which there was no looking back. The Interview was translated into several languages, and became Akvarious Productions’ longest running play–with close to 120 shows across 26 cities, for over a decade. 

“We discovered that urban contemporary writing defined us,” he says. 

Things may have changed for Khurana since The Interview but his inclination towards the slice-of-life genre has not. Whether it was his innings as a writer in TVF Tripling, to his directorial debut on celluloid, Irfan Khan-starrer Karwaan, and the popular web series Mismatched on Netflix–everything has undertones of themes tied in with contemporary society. 

Khurana took on a role on the other side of the camera when he played the father’s role in comedy-drama series Yeh Meri Family (2018). While his character was loved and well-received by the audience, he does not necessarily enjoy being in front of the camera as much. 

“I am a very unhappy and reluctant actor,” he says. “Acting for the camera requires a lot of waiting and I keep getting restless thinking I could have utilised this time to do something else!” he says. 

Having waded through the tumultuous waters of writing, for Khurana, theatre is a safe haven. “That does not mean I do not love directing films or OTT content. I am inherently a storyteller–it could be in the rehearsal room or on the shooting floor; rest everything is technical,” Khurana says.

For him, it is the immediate gratification associated with the theatre, coupled with a pressure-intensive environment that works. “If you aren’t satisfied with the outcome, you can improvise in the next show. The other mediums do not necessarily allow that,” he explains. 

Recently, Khurana has been signed on by Aadyam Theatre, an initiative by the Aditya Birla Group for its podcast, Unscripted with Akarsh Khurana that delves deep into the theatre industry through free-flowing conversations with actors, directors, writers and other diverse theatre professionals.  “There was no structured theatre-related podcast in India…There are so many interesting stories to delve into…It’s easier to communicate with them (people from the theatre fraternity) on the various facets of their lives,” he tells YS Life.  

At the moment, Akvarious Productions, along with Aadyam Theatre, is also set to present its latest original play, The F Word, another slice-of-life story, focused on dysfunctional families. 

'Is it a conscious choice?,' YS Life asks. 

“Dysfunctional families have been around since forever. Our TV soaps are all about them just that they are rooted in a slightly regressive sensibility. I love that kind of storytelling; it is very much my cup of tea,” Khurana responds. . “In the west, this subgenre is called mumblecore. When I write my own stuff, I tend to focus on slice-of-life, realistic and bittersweet comedies,” he says. 

The rising popularity of OTT might have affected the business of cinema, but Khurana feels the interest in live performances is going to live long. “Of course there are movies, television and OTT, but venues like Prithvi and NCPA continue to be packed every night! A lot of themes that impact the youth of today are being tackled through plays,” Khurana says, confident that plays are here to stay.

(Feature image has been sourced from Facebook. The story was updated to fix a typo.)