Actor Leena Shah reflects on her enduring journey through Gujarati theatre, sharing insights into performance, resilience, travel, and the emotional connection with audiences that continues to define her artistic life.

The ever-peppy film, web series, and Gujarati theatre actor has done it all and is ready for more. Acting ever since she was 22 years old, Leena Shah has also moonlighted as a voice-over artiste, served as a master of ceremonies at events, besides making a mark on radio programmes, being adjudged the Best Radio Artiste by the Indian Voice Fest.

Costume designing and ad films are also a part of her careerography. Over the years, she has performed in numerous high-profile plays, often alongside veterans like Sanjay Goradia and Siddharth Randeria. On television, she has featured in shows for prime networks like Netflix, Sony, and Colors TV. Her film credits include Woh Adrakwali Chai (2018) and the movie adaptation of Mota Ghar Ni Vahu (2008).

Despite foraying into differing spheres of the performing arts, here Leena Shah writes on why her heart belongs above all to Gujarati theatre:

First Encounter With Theatre Magic

Picture a 17-year-old girl, clutching her aunt’s pinkie finger and entering the backstage of an auditorium for the very first time. That was me. Now, being a film buff was one thing, but at the cinema hall I was watching celluloid come alive. At the theatre, I was in the presence of actors’ faces being transformed on make-up chairs, backstage assistants hustling with props, and the istriwala ironing one vibrant costume after another. I was in awe, instantaneously.

The producer, a tall, well-built man, walked in preoccupied, prepping on calls for his next project. My aunt, who was there regarding a show deal, casually introduced me to him and after the initial pleasantries, he asked, “Beta, can you dance?” I nodded hesitantly. He immediately called for the director. As I stood there baffled, the director entered, they had a hushed conversation, and I was asked, “We are making a musical play, comprising 27 actors, and we have been looking for a girl your age who can dance, so can you be there at the rehearsals from tomorrow?”

It has been about two decades, and that was my best “Yes” ever.

Growing With Gujarati Theatre

When it all began, I was probably the youngest one in the field, and that worked so well for me. I was a total novice, yet focused on giving my best, fully aware that I was being paid to perform while I learned and attempted to excel at this art for free. Among the many joys of Gujarati theatre, the first one was that we all belonged to the same culture and spoke the same language, shared the same big appetite for food, and nursed an insatiable hunger for that echo of applause when we deliver a line of dialogue impactfully.

Gujarati theatre is more than 150 years old, and yet with each play we feel as if we are starting all over again. Sometimes we stumble at the box office and sometimes we fly high. But what remains constant is that we are reminded time and again that our audiences are the ones who are keeping us afloat.

With the advent of OTT and social media, it is nothing less than a blessing to see hundreds of Gujarati families filling up theatre seats every time a show is announced. They laugh, they cry, and some of them come to meet us backstage overwhelmed with little things like, “How did you recite all of that by heart?”, “Is he really your father?”, “Is your hand okay after that villain twisted it?” It is so endearing to answer all these innocent, child-like queries.

The Harsh Realities Of Stage Life

All is not well in paradise, though. There are rough days, even stormy ones. Actors must perform even if they have just lost a loved one. A minor accident or an injury that can be covered under make-up or the costume is never eligible for leave. A show must be staged with the same vigour and normalcy because the audience buys a ticket to just one drama, not multiple scripts. So, we must stand in unison once the third bell shrills and the curtain opens. The catharsis here is that no matter whatever godforsaken scenario you came from, once the show begins you are transported, and the pain is muted.

One of the biggest perks is travelling to a new city, a remote village, or a faraway country your pocket would have otherwise failed to afford, especially in your 20s. It is such an incentive to experience life on the go. It has helped me grow not just as an actor but has also made me an observant, empathetic human being.

A Superhit Play And Global Connect

Currently, I’m acting in the play Sakkhna Rehjo Husbandji, directed by Firoz Bhagat and written by Imtiaz Patel, which has been declared a super-hit. It’s a comedy about what happens to a quintessential Gujarati family when a visitor from the U.S. arrives. We have completed 55 shows in less than three months and will soon be travelling with the show, inter-city and overseas.

The way Gujaratis across the globe receive us is equivalent to a child waiting for Santa Claus at midnight. They especially feel proud that the younger generation, though educated in English as a primary language, speaks bulky paragraphs in Gujarati flawlessly. For them, that reiterates a sense of preservation of the community across generations.

Witnessing such moments upfront is way more satisfying than a huge cheque or award. Theatre is equivalent to love. No matter how much it makes you bleed, the very notion of performing on stage before a ‘live’ audience makes you smile inwardly that yes, I’m doing the right thing.

Rituals And Spiritual Connection

Let me share one of the lesser-known facts about Gujarati theatre. Just before a show, while the curtain is still closed, a puja is performed quite traditionally for ‘Rangbhoomi’, as we call it, and those 15 minutes, for me, are like driving into a gas station to fuel up the engine. It is as divine as it is calming.

There is that reassurance that no matter what is lost, this will stay with you forever. What more could you ask for in life? You are blessed with a job that makes you want to show up with glee and get better at it every day. 

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