MK Raina is easily one of the most celebrated theatre personalities of our times. In addition to being an actor and director in theatre as well as in films, Raina has conducted several theatre workshops for the youth in Kashmir — his hometown. Using theatre as a means of empowerment and education, he hopes to encourage community building and rehabilitation. In Jaipur recently for the Jaipur Literature Festival, Raina shared his thoughts on his memoir Before I Forget — a compelling journey which takes one to Kashmir where Raina spent his childhood and growing up years, as well as his unique thoughts and perspective on theatre and films in India.
Ahead of World Theatre Day (March 27), Raina speaks about his work in theatre and upcoming projects.
Excerpts from the interview
What compelled you to document all your memories and write this memoir?
It was already documented for years in my mind. When I would relate some of the incidents to my friends, they would insist that I write. Then I went to Stanford for a fellowship and there was this Indian professor there and she also insisted that I write about my experiences. When COVID happened, I had nothing to do and I thought this is the right time to put pen to paper.
You had a wonderful childhood growing up in Kashmir in the 1950s, but when you see the environment in which children are growing up now in Kashmir, how do you make your peace with it?
By working with them. I was doing theatre with the adults, but later my daughter encouraged me to work with children. There were a lot of children who came from complicated backgrounds. We even went to an orphanage and worked with some of them. There were kids who had seen a lot of violence here. Some of them had never seen what a full day looks like. Most of the time they were locked inside the houses for fear of being killed if they stepped out. There were psychological issues too. The pedagogy which I used was not the pedagogy which I know of theatre. It was more instinctive. I made four-five models. I’m an individual; I don’t have an institution. The state’s priority is using culture as an insulation in a crisis. I see culture as the biggest power and the most profound power. Things can improve; synergies can work. The state uses culture as a spectacle. We use culture at a grassroots level – quietly, repairing lives and empowering them to change their situation.
Theatre is such an integral part of your life. What do you recall of the National School of Drama days when theatre doyen Ebrahim Alkazi was helming the affairs?
He was a very fine teacher and a very disciplined teacher. He knew all of our backgrounds and where we came from. There was individual attention and there was group attention. He was really trying to make us theatre professionals.
You have worked in theatre but your work goes beyond that. Please elaborate.
I’ve done 200 theatre productions and 13 language theatres. The other half of my life has been using theatre and its pedagogies, and discovering new pedagogies for the rehabilitation and development of theatre people. While I’ve done avant-garde and experimental theatre, I feel fulfilled when I do the other half.
Do you see yourself as an activist?
I’m known as an activist. I don’t know what I see myself as, because I do films as well as a lot of other things. However, if I had to think of a term for myself, I would say that I am an optimist and I have hope. Wherever I feel I can contribute, I do that.
What are you working on next?
There’s a chapter on the Kashmir Bandhs in my memoir. I’ve been working for the last six months on writing a seminal academic book, encompassing theatre in Kashmir with Natya Shastra, then going to when the Turks took over, etc. I make my films and documentaries, but I have been working with youngsters on some beautiful scripts which are going to international festivals. I recently did a film which will be released in March.
