Moving with WeMove

It all started with a link my friend forwarded me one day. After around 5 long years of no action, I wanted to get back into theatre and unleash the thespian in me. I was also haunted by the boring weekends common to corporate world.

Then suddenly one evening I got this link in orkut which looked a bit weird. It said it needs emotions for its new play. This was enough for me to call the number given (Vinay) and enquire. I was ready for anything, even a backstage volunteer. But I got a role without any audition for a simple fact that I had to be an emotion in the play which didn’t require any acting skills. My new journey in theatre started from there.

Johny & Urvashi was WeMove’s 2nd venture in theatre after a disastrous Me,MyLove. It was the most ambitious and creative project by WeMove. After J&U, oppurtunities were still not to open up for me. I had to satisfy with couple of cameos in Shadows Alive and T.P.K Marali Baa’s 1st show. The major reason for this being my relocation to Mysore from Bangalore.

Six months in Mysore and my hunger returned because of no major action in theatre world had been accomplished by me till then. WeMove was slowly moving away from my life and at one point I was even thinking of joining some other theatre group in Mysore. But future had something else in store.

I had to get involved again with WeMove because of Sanjay’s ambition to move out of Bangalore to perform and the natural choice was Mysore. This time it was me and Sowmya who had to look after marketing. After long delays, we had finally booked Rangayana and started practicing. For the first time, I was roped in for a role with around 10 minutes stage presence and some dialogues. This also had room for acting. I consider this as one of the major milestones in my theatre career. I had finally made a comeback.

We successfully did reshows in Rangayana, H.N.Kalakshetra and Rangashankara and got some rave reviews. It was the best moment for me when after the show in H.N.K, a guy who couldn’t understand Kannada came and told he understood my character. An actor can’t get a better compliment.

It was not just about acting afterall. We were a wonderful team and we also partied hard. This was when I got amazing friends in Sanjay, Abhi, Bharath, Sowmya and all others involved in T.P.K Marali Baa. We were moving on to greater heights. I can also say this phase was the most enjoyed days of my theatre life.

There is an adage that “All good things must come to an end”. But this was proved false in case of WeMove’s feats. By the time we were done with the Rangashankara show, I was back in Bangalore vowing to work harder with zeal and make it big in theatre. We had a short break before we got off with two new projects, “Nannavala Kaagada” and “A Muggy Night in Mumbai”. Myself and Abhi, typecasted as “Kannada-Only” Artistes had to be contented with jobs in “NK” unlike Sanjay and Bharath who were into both the projects.

With one of the most hilarious scripts and the best actors of WeMove to its credit, we were sure “NK” would be a huge success. And so it was. I was finally in one of the prominent roles after 5 difficult years of waiting. I was sure I can recreate the magic of my “Vidushaka” days. But this time, I had more responsibilities on my shoulders and a target of more than 200 audiences to be filled for the show. It was again booked in SevaSadana, a superstition we in WeMove have. We, especially Abhi feel that SevaSadana is lucky for us and if our first show is in SevaSadana, then the play will be a sure success. And predictably we had a full house and the show was a huge success. For me personally, it was another milestone and an encouraging move. For WeMove, it was another feather in its cap of success.

With huge success bigger challenges have arrived and I am honored to be a key player in the path of WeMove’s endeavors to achieve greater heights. Some have left, others have joined WeMove in the process but WeMove as a company, as a team stays still with its success speaking for itself. I can now proudly say I know how a startup company works to grow and reach some great heights. Now it’s been around 18 months of association with WeMove for me and already I dream of working fulltime for WeMove someday.

I have not only grown as an actor, but also as a Manager, Co-ordinator, Business Man, Marketing Executive, Director for Audacations :P with new responsibilities and challenges coming my way. Thank you Naresh Mayya Sir for sowing the Acting seed in me. Thank you Sanjay, Abhi, Sowmya, Bharath, WeMove for believing in me and welcoming me into WeMove and giving me oppurtunities and bigger responsibilities. I am sure it would not be so welcoming for me in any other Theatre Productions.

(Dedicated to my mentor Naresh Mayya,Addu, People behind WeMove and people who watched our shows and encouraged us)