Sarang Sathaye Interview

‘Theatre gave me a chance to express myself’

…says Pune-based actor, writer, and director Sarang Sathaye, as he tells DNA about his journey and his love for theatre.

With the city gearing up for the Purushottam Karandak finals this weekend, DNA decided to get in touch with Pune-based theatre artist and filmmaker Sarang Sathaye, who, during his college days, was one of the most ardent theatre enthusiasts of Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce and spent hours rehearsing for the competition in the college’s renowned Pittie Hall. Reminiscing about those days, Sarang said, “Every BMCC student will speak very highly of the Pittie Hall. BMCC always gave us enough time and opportunity to focus on theatre and our studies. We spent the entire day in that hall and went home only to sleep.”

However, it wasn’t theatre from the very beginning for Sarang. There is a rather interesting story behind how he got introduced to the field that would someday become his all. “I still remember that day when I returned home, seeing a friend’s play. I was in my second year of graduation then, and the play impacted me so much that I decided to leave CA and take up theatre. Thankfully, it wasn’t difficult convincing my parents, and with their support, I took a year’s break and got wholeheartedly involved in it,” Sarang stated, adding that theatre for him was always a medium to express himself, which a job like CA wouldn’t have allowed him to do.

For the next year, Sarang attended several theatre workshops and participated in over 10 one-act plays. Over the years, he has had the opportunity to participate in different plays. He was once also taken in as a replacement actor for a full-length play by the Maharashtra Cultural Centre. However, things changed for the better when, three months later, he was roped in by Mohit Takalkar in his theatre group, Asakta. “Over the last ten years that I’ve been working with Mohit, I’ve had the opportunity to do everything, from direction, designing costumes, acting, taking charge of the sets, lighting, and more. If there has ever been an acting school I’ve gone to, it’s Asakta,” he said, adding that no matter what he does, his true passion will always remain in theatre.

Sarang has acted in seven or eight Asakta productions as an actor, one of which is Takalkar’s debut directorial film, The Bright Day, which was screened at the Toronto Film Festival last year. He has also been featured in MTV’s Bring on the Night and has assisted national award-winning directors like Sachin Kundalkar, Sumitra Bhave, and Sunil Suktankar in the past. “Initially, my inclinations were more towards direction, but with time, I explored my acting abilities with the projects I pursued along the way,” he stated.

He is looking forward to the release of Mahadoo, directed by Sandesh Bhandari, a movie in which he plays the lead role of a doctor. “The film talks about the state of malnutrition in the tribal areas of India and is now in the post-production phase.”