Director Arvind Gaur 's Interview on Swadesh Deepak's Court Martial by Shilpi Marwaha.

Shilpi Marwaha-Why did you choose the play court martial?
Arvind Gaur-Court martial not only depicts but also attacks the major problems of the society. Its content is very strong and powerful. With its powerful content and tight structure it is very relevant for a society which is infected with issues like cast discrimination, communal-ism, feudal tendencies. Court martial’s content, script writing, production are in sink with today’s era. It not only addresses the human behavioral problems but also the feudal approach which is so prevalent in our society. It disturbs the inside of the man and gives them food for thought, something which they can take home with them and think about.

Shilpi Marwaha- Bringing out the issues of discrimination in the Indian army, don’t you feel these might create difficulties for a group like Asmita?
AG -We are not against army, or any particular part of the society. We are addressing the society as a whole. Even Bikash Rai is from army who is fighting for the truth. We are trying to expose the bad side and highlight the good side of our society. Plethora of army officers have seen our shows and appreciated it. We have also performed court martial for army at Jammu. Every portion of the society have seen and appreciated it. Sometimes we have to show situations in extremes in order to increase their impact; we can hardly expect something like that would happen in army since it’s an extreme situation. At the end of every show we also invite audience to give their inputs. Full opportunity is provided to every one to speak his/her mind.

Shilpi Marwaha- Court martial is your highly performed and most popular show , even movies like shaurya has been inspired by the same issue, what is making such a issue so popular ?
AG - People relate with these issues. Most of us have feudal tendencies hidden inside us, at sometime or another we do feel that we are superior to the person in front of us. In a developing society like ours where we have socio-political movements, people are searching for their identities (asmita). A lot of awareness has spread in the society through these issues. We are just trying to highlight the moot point so as to raise the level of awareness in the society and open their eyes to the harsh realities. I think it is the responsibility of arts group to spread awareness through the platform they have been bestowed with.We have been performing court martial for the last 15 years. Apart from being issue based it is an actor’s training play.

Shilpi Marwaha-Most of the theatre groups do not take up issues like the one you have taken up in court martial, they concentrate more on entertaining plays, what gave you the courage to take up such a serious issue?
AG- We have socio- political responsibility towards the society we live in. for us theatre is a movement and not a medium of earning money, it is the means through which we channelize the energy of the youngsters and aware them about the harsh truths prevalent in the society. Sometimes as a part of society we have to endure what happens in the society. It is the responsibility of the theatre to react and generate social debate in the society, this makes the audience relate with Asmita. They relate with the debatable points which Asmita brings to them. People in some way or another link with issues like communal ism, cast discrimination, domestic violence, human rights, labor issues, leprosy.

Shilpi Marwaha- For you what relevance does court martial hold?
AG- It is an inside journey, that removes the element which makes one feel superior to the other. This play has not only improved my personality but also flowered its positive aspects which were hidden till now. The background from which I come has been affected by feudal tendencies which have been offset by this play. This play touches you individually and I strongly believe that it is individual change which can bring change in the society. This play is logical, emotional, and analytical and issue based. Its honesty and conviction makes it different from other plays.

Shilpi Marwaha- What makes court martial you’re most popular and successful show?
AG- Actors honesty and Swadesh Deepak’s powerful script makes all the difference. Actor’s hard work, conviction and the relevant content of the play adds to its success. Audience can relate with the characters of the play like Ramchander, Bikash Rai. In the beginning of the play, I used to relate myself with Suraj Singh and with the passage of time I have started associating with characters like Bikash Rai. Asmita has taken court martial to every section of the society from Jammu to Calicat and Jaipur to Dibrugrah.

Shilpi Marwaha- You have done editing and additions to the Swadesh Deepak’s court martial what made you do it?
AG- Court martial is a verbose play; it is a single set action. In order to make the visual impact more powerful and highlight the subtext I resorted to editing. Though I was quite nervous when Swadesh Deepak came to see the show of court martial, but he appreciated the experiment, he found it very powerful and best show so far.

Shilpi Marwaha-Court martial has a big male cast and all the actors are on the stage through out the play, did you face any difficulty in handling such a big caste?
AG- No, actors have always been very hard working and honest towards their work. Asmita stresses on the training pattern of the actors, it is basically work oriented. It emphasizes on teamwork and aims at individual growth of the actor.

Shilpi Marwaha- Though at the end of every show the audience sympathizes with Ramchandra don’t you think that there were some weaknesses even on his part?
AG-These things are debatable. Ramchandra tried to control apart from that when he shot the two officers it was not preplanned. Once someone reaches his/her saturation point he cannot endure and he is not left with any option except reacting. Ramchander did the same; he had reached his peak point beyond which one either reacts, walkout or starts adjusting with the truth. He was a fighter so he fought against it.

Shilpi Marwaha-how do you associate with Bikash Rai?
AG-the character Bikash Rai is fighting against the system from with in the system. His honesty, integrity and courage to fight for the truth makes him different. He has the inner strength of mahatma Gandhi and the revolutionary spirit of bhagat singh. he is not afraid of fighting against millions of people in order to save the truth. Through out the play his main aim has not been to win the case but it has been to win something which he considers more important than the case that is truth.

"When art meets activism" article on director Arvind Gaur by Nonika Singh (The Sunday Tribune)

An ordinary mortal might see and draw a firm dividing line between art and activism. However, Delhi-based prolific theatre person Arvind Gaur crosses that line easily and fluidly. So, for him Anna’s cause is "our cause" and Mahesh Bhatt, one of Anna’s detractors, just the right "creative and intelligent"person to work with.He senses no contradiction between supporting Anna and directing Mahesh Bhatt’s play 'The Last Salute' In Chandigarh recently to stage his latest directorial venture produced by Bhatt, Gaur shares how theatre is a potent tool to address issues and connect with audiences. But when theatre becomes a slogan isn’t there a danger of it losing its aesthetic and artistic value? He shoots back, "Mine is not a theatre of slogans. Those who give slogans wither away fast. They just come and go."
And Gaur has been around steadfast in his belief and passion for over two decades --- his group Asmita itself came into being in 1993. In his long tryst with theatre, he has over 90 proscenium and over 100 street plays to his credit. Alongside he has been promoting platform theatre that straddles the middle ground, that is it includes elements of proscenium like use of a wall, costumes, etc yet is staged at places chosen impromptu like an outside theatre auditorium or, say, a street corner. Whatever may be the genre of his theatre, it’s content that remains the driving force.
Social and political issues concern him --- not any one problem in particular. Be it domestic violence, communal hatred, education deprivation, divisive society all reflect in his dramatic narratives. Even when he directs a classic like Tughlaq, which he calls an all- time political drama, he probes into its political and social overtones. Anton Chekov, Dario Fo, Girish Karnad, Bhisham Sahni, Dharam Vir Bharti, Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett `85 the list of eminent playwrights and writers whose writings he has directed is rather long. "A classic", he avers "is universal and timeless. What matters is how you interpret it." Theatre’s primary purpose, he observes, is to communicate. And to drive home the message often accouterments, lights, make-up, he notes can take a backseat.
So, what explains the use of multimedia technology in The Last Salute`85? Was it his degree of electronics communication that led to the intervention of technology in theatre? He quips: "All of my previous training; be it as an engineer or journalist comes in handy. My experience, that also includes working with PTI TV, has helped my editing skills, ability to say more in lesser words and in my political understanding of the world. But it is very rarely that I use other mediums in my plays. Only the subject in The Last Salute dealt with the Iraq war and the clippings conveyed as forcefully as the histrionics ability of actors."Since the play also includes Mahesh Bhatt in a brief appearance, did he direct the maverick director? He laughs, "Tauba, tauba, who can direct Mahesh Bhatt?" Is he open to similar offers of direction from other Bollywood personalities? He doubts that is likely to happen, for he counter questions, "How many people in the film industry are as socially committed as Bhatt?" No, he bears no angst against the filmi duniya. Or, for that matter, against his students like Kangana Ranaut joining mainstream cinema. He quips, "Why not? Where is the space for actors in theatre which remains by and large a director-centric medium?"
Of course, the going is not gung ho for directors either. In the absence of a cultural policy, in the face of the NSD, India’s premier institution, inviting "those it feels like" for its festivals, survival is an issue. But he moves on spurred by the support of his audiences, people to whom alone he is accountable and answerable. Dreaming and envisaging a "behtar duniya", he firmly believes, "Theatre can change mindsets." And skeptics be damned, he thinks the world, the youth in particular, are changing for the better. His contribution to make the world a better place continues unhindered. On the anvil is a play on corruption`85 you bet inspired by the Anna movement. Art imitates life or vice-versa, for Gaur the end purpose of both is the same.