Indian film industry like most other film industries mesmerizes its audience with Stars and Super Stars. But amidst the stardom, it's very difficult to remember the character artists and their short roles. They get less footage and low visibility. That is why the backstory of those artists is less known. If this is about Bollywood then imagine the situation in regional cinema and regional theatres. Now take this context back by 4 decades or so.
Shriram Lagoo, born in Satara district in 1927. Studied medicine in Pune and then did his masters to become an ENT Surgeon. I got to see him first as a character artist in a Hindi movies from the '80s. Of course, I later went on to see some of his outstanding works in Marathi Cinema and Marathi theatre. Read about him, heard his interview and followed his other social contributions. The one inspiring line I heard multiple times in his interviews, is his definition of an actor; he said, "an actor needs to be an athlete-philosopher" he said. The ability to perform physically like an athlete and to use the intellect of a philosopher.
Although he liked theatre even during his medical college days it was not something he wanted to do fulltime. Maybe, that is why he did his masters, practised for a few years in Pune and then went to Tanzania as an ENT specialist on a 3-year contract with the Tanzanian government. His love for theatre continued there too. He did some English plays and also directed a Gujarati play with a local Gujarati group. It was here that a friend of him casually said to him that it is a pity that in spite of staying just beside Mt. Kilimanjaro Dr. Lagoo had not been on the peak. Dr. Lagoo took that to his heart and said he wants to climb the peak.
Lagoo had crossed 40 but was fit and healthy. He took 3 months of training to get ready for his climb. All went well till the last lap. At 18,500 feet it started getting difficult to breathe for Lagoo. He could take 2 steps and 3 breaths before moving ahead. He never slopped. His climbing continued. Finally, the last step was taken and there was the visual reward in front of him. Miles of white snow, unending blue sky and silence so deep, you could hear your heartbeat.
In that profound silence, a voice rang out from within me, pure, sharp and clear as a bell in the sanctum sanctorum of a temple...
What happened next is described by Lagoo in his autobiography named Lamaan (Carrier of Goods). He writes, "In that profound silence, a voice rang out from within me, pure, sharp and clear as a bell in the sanctum sanctorum of a temple: 'From here on, you will not try to straddle two peaks. You will give up your medical practice altogether and plunge into professional acting. That's where your future lies.' Suddenly, the noise and clamour of years of internal conflict ended. Everything became serenely calm, inside and outside."
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