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Rati Agnihotri whose leading the glamorous mom brigade in films has also joined this league as she makes an entry to stage with Moksha Creations' English play ‘Divorce Me Darling’.

Doing theatre seems to be in vogue and is drawing Bollywood actresses towards it. Rati Agnihotri whose leading the glamorous mom brigade in films has also joined this league as she makes an entry to stage with Moksha Creations' English play ‘Divorce Me Darling’. The actress is delighted about her return to films after a sixteen-year long hiatus and theatre just adds up one more dimension to her abilities. We spoke to the beautiful actress who earnestly answered our questions about her first brush with theatre in her second stint as an actress.

How did you hit upon the idea of debuting on stage?
Everything in my life is very impulsive. If something exciting comes my way and I feel like doing it I just take it. Same is the case with my stage debut with Vandana Sajnani's 'Divorce me darling'. I found the script to be very exciting and was thrilled to be doing it.

Do you watch plays?
I used to see plays before at Tata NCPA and others while I used to stay in town. I haven't seen much in recent past but there is Sarita Joshi's ‘Sakubai’ that I remember vividly. A fabulous performance put up by a brilliant actress.

Tell us something about your character in the play in a nutshell.
As you know that it is a theatrical adaptation of the classic Cactus flower and I play Ingrid Bergman's character that is of a nurse to this carefree dentist and while helping him out to deal with his girlfriend she falls for him. You see the transformation of my character from being a boring and stern person to an exuberant woman in this light-hearted romantic play.

You have been in films earlier and now on the stage, are there any comparisons between the two mediums?
There is no comparison except the fact that you are acting in both.
Performing on stage is very difficult as in films the camera moves with you whereas here the audience is your camera and you are to move with them. In theatre you have to be very loud with the projection of your voice and expressions, as they should reach to the last person in the auditorium. I have to concentrate and look into these important things during my performances.

What is your knowledge of Hindi and English theatre?
I grew up knowing that Marathi and Gujarati are the best theatres that offer best plays. Right now I am just at the bottom, just introduced to this medium. I consider myself a novice to be commenting on it.

Don't you think that your return to films confined you in motherly roles?
That is okay with me and I never had nor will have any qualms about playing mother. I don't think that way. I am playing contemporary mother and I think I have broken the cast that an actress can only be a heroine. Then again, I am not playing mother in all my films I have played single woman of my age I will take up roles as long as it befits my age.

After 'Divorce me darling', will you continue doing more plays?
Currently I have my hands full with work commitments. I have so many films right now that I have a little scope to take on more work.
Presently, Divorce me darling is doing well and I am happy with the response, candidly I don't look too much into future.