Veteran actor Tom Alter, on his recent Bhopal visit, spoke to us about filmmaking becoming overtly technical, and more Tom Alter is an essential part of Bhopal’s theatre and has staged a number of plays here. His recent performance was for the play Lal Quile Ka Aakhiri Mushaira, held at Ravindra Bhavan under the series Aadi Vidrohi. And the actor will be back in Bhopal on December 30 for another event. About his character in the play, Tom says, “I played the role of Bahadur Shah Zafar in the play, which is about the king’s last public address at Red Fort. The address was more like a mushaira, and hence the title of the play.” Tom has also been an inherent part of Hindi films. Ask him about his journey so far and he says, “My journey in films has been quite exciting. But at the same time, it’s been tiring too. I have seen many ups and downs in my career. I was a sports teacher back then and was in awe of Rajesh Khanna. My love and admiration for him eventually led me into films. It has been decades since then, and now everything has undergone so much change.” And what are the changes? “Things are not the same anymore. Today, the focus is more on the technical aspect of a film. It is more important to get the sound and light correct than get a decent story. If we focus on other aspects of the film also, like the story line and the acting, we’ll do much better. We’ll have more classic films to boast about,” he explains. About his upcoming films, Tom says, “I’m working in a number of films. At present, I am totally engrossed in Cheekha, which is being directed by Adya Parth. In the film, I play a monk and it is one of the finest characters that I have played in my career.” The actor is also planning to get into direction, but refuses to divulge any details. “I’m considering a few scripts, but nothing has been finalized yet,” he says. Talking about his association with theatre, Tom says, “Theatre is livelier and more challenging than doing films. It requires a lot of effort to act in front of a live audience.
