Entertainment
Fashion Herald Stylecheck Feature – Shreyas Porus Pardiwalla
Who were the biggest inspirations in your career ?
Well, to be honest there is not one sole person I can attribute the “my inspiration” title too. There are many stalwarts in this industry who I look up to. Several role models, whose work and journey in the creative field have ignited a fire of passion and motivation within me.
What is the biggest myth about directing ? What is your view of the Indian theater 
industry?
Hahaha, I haven’t come across any particular myth, but all I can say is directing is not at all an easy job. It is a job which requires one to wear several hats, that of a parent, of a leader, of a counsellor, of an actor as well. A director needs to understand that ‘the whole is greater than the parts’, which other departments fail to acknowledge.
Indian theatre was indeed dying a couple of years ago, however several youth programmes and initiatives have helped regain the interest of theatre in India. Indian Theatre probably is still not practiced or performed as much as I would have liked it to be, but Theatre in India has picked up pace for sure. There is a vast difference between Indian theatre and theatre in India. The people of this county need to go back to the soil and understand India’s culture in order to perform or even delve into Indian theatre.
How has the transition from an actor to a theater director been?
The transition has been exciting, exhausting and a great learning experience for me. A lot more study and research work is involved and I have enjoyed the process thoroughly.
What creative processes go behind directing a theater play and how is it different from movie direction?
Theatre direction and movie direction are very different indeed, the medium itself is different, hence everything in and around it varies. I can’t comment much about movie direction as I haven’t delved into it yet however I can say that movie direction involved looking at a scene frame wise and then stitching them all together to make one marvellous product. But In theatre direction at all times the product needs to be looked at as a whole and not frame by frame or scene by scene. Also once he show starts the theatre director can not do any damage control… hahaha.
Tell us about your famous play Royal Opera House, Rangsharda and Andrews.
I did not perform at Rangsharda. However recently my directorial play strangers in the night was staged at the Royal Opera house and St. Andrews. Both the shows were sold out, in fact one show was sold out house full two weeks before the show date. Indeed this was a blessing. The play is a musical play, with Western music songs from the golden era of the 60s and 70s. The songs comprise of those sung by legends like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, ABBA, Dorris Day, Elvis Presley, Nat-King Cole to name a few.
Your play ‘Strangers In The Night’ran houseful for two consecutive weeks. What do think think made it such a huge success?
Truth be told it’s these legendary evergreen songs which make the play a huge success. The songs are golden and are everyone go to numbers. Indeed Cyrus Dastur my producer has done excellent Marketing as well.
How has been the success of ‘Strangers In The Night’ impacted your personal and professional life?
People have started to appreciate my writing and directing skills. That’s all for now to be honest. The play is still relatively new. It’s picking up pace and making waves indeed… but there is much more in store and waiting to happen.
What are some of the personal and professional goals in the future ?
My dream is to become a successful Hollywood and Bollywood actor. Acting is my first love. In the near future I want to focus a lot on acting and make my mark as an actor as well.
