Theatre frees you, says actor Kishore Kumar on his return to stage after two decades

The Hindu

30-05-2025

Multilingual actor Kishore Kumar returns to his roots with a powerful comeback to theatre after nearly two decades, with Love Letters - Ninna Preetiya Naanu. He reflects on the challenges of the stage, the limits of screen experience, and why theatre remains an unfiltered space for expression. Edited excerpts.
What drew you back to theatre after all these years?
The attraction was always there and I wanted to go back to where I started. I began with college theatre more than two decades ago; it was not even amateur theatre then. I feel theatre is a freer medium and is not bound by strictures. You always have the freedom to express yourself in theatre performances.
How different is it to return to the stage, with years of screen experience behind you?
Honestly, all these years of screen experience were of no help. Cinema spoils you as an actor or performer, giving you a lot of time to prepare beforehand. With theatre it is the opposite. Over the last few weeks, I have realised that every show and every performance is different, and you keep learning as you execute the play. That does not happen in cinema, despite having the luxury of time to create.
What was the most challenging part of preparing for this performance?
I agreed to do this play because I did not have to learn my lines and only had to read from the script. I thought it would be easy, but then I realised that this was a big challenge, as reading involves a lot of effort in theatre. You have to reach out to the audience through your voice and words. Projecting my voice was a challenge and I also feel that my decibel levels are low. I perform the play with Siri Ravikumar and genetically, women's voices have a higher frequency, so matching up to her projection, sounding clear and not losing my energy was challenging. It required a lot of work for me and the director.