After six years, actor-director Rajat Kapoor brings a new play titled Karamjale Brothers to the Mumbai stage this week. The play is a Hindi adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s famous novel The Brothers Karamazov. With this, Kapoor, who has helmed plays that are based on Shakespearean dramas and performed by clowns such as What’s Done Is Done and I Don’t Like It As You Like, delves into Dostoevsky’s world that explores the conflict between faith and doubt.
Q: Why did you think of adapting Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov as a play?
Kapoor: I have always been a huge fan of Dostoevsky. This was one of his books that I had not read. When I read it in June 2023, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Instantly, I knew this would be my next play. When you are making something out of an existing work, your primary reason is that you want to delve into it deeper and understand it more. Of course, you would then want to align it to your world and your understanding of the world.
Q: The novel is voluminous. What was your process of turning it into a 100-minute production?
Kapoor: That was part of the challenge: How does one make this into a 100-minute play? No, we did not look at any existing play that may have been based on the novel, or any film adaptation of it. The writing happened with the collaboration of the actors.
Q: The novel famously raises theological questions and talks about free will. Did these factors influence your decision to adapt it?
Kapoor: Dostoevsky was a religious man, and his strong views colour all his work. What is interesting is that he (through his characters) also fights with the ‘lack of faith’, and what that means. If there is no faith, no god, no immortality, then in such a scenario, is man free to act?
The play is a Hindi adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s famous novel The Brothers Karamazov.
Q: What did you have to keep in mind while changing the setting to an Indian family?
Kapoor: Like I said, the attempt was to make the experience our own. We have managed to make a good adaptation to our world, where every character is somebody we know, or might have met. This is our world. Dostoevsky breathes and lives in our world.
Q: Did you discover any hidden layers while exploring the text?
Kapoor: Always. That is the very idea of spending this time with a text: to understand it better. It’s been rewarding though Dostoevsky’s world is not safe. It should come with a disclaimer. The darkness can affect you. It is a bit like going down an abyss, not knowing where your next step would lead. You wonder if you would find solid ground under you, or tumble down the pit of madness.
Q: You are directing a play after a gap. For a multi-talented artiste like you, what does doing theatre mean?
Kapoor: For me, theatre and cinema are both a source of joy. The processes are very different, and the joy is also very different. The creative part though remains the same. Theatre also gives me the opportunity to spend time with old friends and make new ones. It is an opportunity to spend two to three months of work with people you like. Then, you continue that journey over the shows and travel around the world with people you like. It is a great privilege.
Q: In the past, you have taken the basic structure or essence of a classic play and then brought in clowns or improvised it. Compared to that, how different was the process of developing Karamjale Brothers?
Kapoor: For this one, we don’t have clowns. But the process of making a play is pretty much the same. You are still looking for the essence of the book/play and trying to find your way into it. It will soon come alive with the audience. Then, we will figure out what we have done.
Karamjale Brothers will be staged at St Andrew’s Auditorium on August 2 at 7 pm and on August 3 at 4 pm and 7 pm. It will be staged at Prithvi Theatre from August 6-11.
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