EXCLUSIVE! Imlie Star Vishwa Gulati: If There Is No Theatre, There Is No Magic

Star Plus show Imlie is winning hearts of the masses for its engaging story of three complex characters - Imlie (Sumbul Touqeer Khan), Aditya (Gashmeer Mahajani) and Malini (Mayuri Deshmukh). Amidst the triangle, there is one more character that has entered the show and impressing audiences. That character is none other than Kunal Chauhan played by Vishwa Gulati.

The actor's chemistry with Mayuri Deshmukh is loved by all, and fans are now wanting to see Kunal and Malini together in the show. Talking about Vishwa Gulati's career, the actor has explored various streams of acting. Notably, he has been associated with several theatre groups in Delhi for many years now. After bagging a key role in Imlie, Vishwa is ready to explore small screen as well.

Recently, in an exclusive conversation with Filmibeat, Vishwa Gulati talked about his experience in theatre and revealed how theatre artists had to face difficulties during the lockdown. While speaking about the same, Vishwa said, "As an actor, my roots belong to theatre. It is my first love and sacred space where I evolved as an actor and a person. I work with three theatre groups in Delhi at the moment and I personally can tell you how frustrating and disappointing it was being in Delhi after so long, and not being able to work with my favourite theatre director Kaushik Bose and meet my friends from the theatre circuit and create magic with them."

"Theatre is a medium which is best experienced live. The magic that you witness in a proscenium between the actors on stage and the audience is phenomenal. There is a constant exchange of energies between the two and that's exactly where the fun lies for me. Theatre is live, it's engaging, it ropes you in and grabs your attention tight, makes you forget to breathe and it leaves you mesmerized with its beauty. So now, if there is no theatre, there is no magic! During the pandemic, theatre spaces closed down completely. I missed performing so much that I returned to my theatre group in Delhi where we rehearsed for two months and performed live on the Zoom platform. It was a great experiment; we were acting live like in the theatre but performing in front of our laptops and webcam while sitting in our respective homes but still, nothing could suffice the experience of performing live on stage and rehearsing your role for months and till date, I majorly miss it and I'm waiting to get back to it. Theatre is also a space where experienced actors like me come to hone their craft, work on their mental blocks and limitations and evolve as actors. The discipline and devotion that theatre asks in return to teaching you how to act is worth self-exploring and it is annoying for any theatre actor to not be able to reap the fruits from it," Vishwa Gulati added.

The actor feels extremely blessed to be a part of Imlie as he always wanted to expand his skills as a performer. Vishwa said, "I was fascinated by how acting in front of the camera requires a completely different discipline and level of comfort. So about four years back, I decided to move to Mumbai to work in the industry and give myself a new experience altogether. I wanted to understand the world of mainstream television and film industries and how they realise their creative vision given the enormity of the scale of production. And now, my role as Kunal Chauhan on Star Plus' number one show Imlie is giving me the recognition and visibility as an actor and performer which was long due and I'm grateful for it."

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When asked about how secure he feels working in television compared to theatres, Vishwa Gulati said, "Security for me comes from the fact that my directors, co-actors and audiences are happy with my work and performance. As an actor these are just parameters for me, it doesn't matter if it's the stage or television."

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Being a theatre actor, Vishwa Gulati is ready to face challenges and wants to explore digital space as well. He said, "There is no fun and work without challenges. Without challenges, I believe life and shoots will be very straightforward and boring and if I want to become a better actor, I must face challenges in every form during my life both personally and professionally. Because on the other side, the challenge lies in a better and more confident future. And not just digital space, I'm ready to face challenges and overcome them in any aspect of life or any medium for actors. Theatre in itself is very challenging, it's like executing everything rehearsed in one take, it conditions you to work under pressure and challenges you as an actor. I owe my personality and confidence to the ten years of theatre that I have practised and I derive my energy to take upon any challenge in my field from it."