It is appropriate to take a little trip down memory lane and go back to that day in the month of April when we saw a post by Vidya Balan on her social media account. The caption read: ‘For Disney’s Aladdin premiere tonight.’
The actress was all decked up to grace the occasion and it was a proud moment for us, sitting in Pune, knowing that a dear friend Siddharth Menon was going to be Aladdin.
We managed to catch the play in Delhi, on returning to India after covering the FIFA World Cup, and the play’s magic was all that we needed to rejuvenate ourselves.
Disney Aladdin returns to stage, opening at National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai, from December 21. And we took the opportunity to talk to the ‘Genie’ played by Mantra and Aladdin created by Siddharth Menon, in this play directed by Shruti Sharma.
The conversation flowed from Marathi to Hindi to English and the two actors could not stop heaping praises on each other, showcasing their camaraderie on and off the stage.
LANDING THE DREAM ROLE
Playing a role in a classic like Aladdin would be a dream come true for any actor, and it was no different for the duo. Both Siddharth and Mantra elaborated on the emotions of bringing to life the memorable characters, from their childhood.
“You see some memorable characters etched by other actors and you wonder if you would ever get a role like that,” said 29-year-old Siddharth, adding, “When Shruti (Sharma), the director of the play called me for a test, they gave me two tracks to work on and when I listened to them, I immediately realised that they were the tracks of Aladdin. At that point of time, I said to myself, ‘I have to get this role’. A couple of weeks before I got the role, I spent sleepless nights, wondering if I would bag it.”
Mantra, on the other hand, believes that it was an accumulation of all his previous works that fetched him the role of the genie. “One simply doesn’t get lucky. If you think you will land a dream role one fine day, then it won’t happen. Kuch nahi milega,” he says.
“It’s the accumulation of all the small roles I have played so far on radio, stage and TV. It’s a legendary role and now when people call me Genie, it’s the best part,” the 36-year-old, RJ turned actor, adds.
THEIR CHEMISTRY
“When I see Sid performing, I see a big thumping-moving heart on the stage. He sings a song about his mother and you will miss your mum. He sings for Jasmine and you wish you were Jasmine. He puts so much heart into what he does,” quips Mantra.
Hearing his co-star’s reaction, Siddharth is quick to respond saying, “Mantra’s heart is ten times bigger than mine. He is a free-spirited soul.”
Giving us a peek into their relationship, the actor of Rajwaade and Sons says, “I greet the entire team before the play begins. On my return to the make-up room I share with Mantra, I just ask, ‘Bro, how do you feel today?’ He says, ‘I feel good’. And, then we see each other directly on stage. We just go out and enjoy.”
THE INTENSE PROCESS
Ask any actor how he feels the next morning after the show, and ‘empty’ would be the common and prompt reply. Once things are in place, the show goes on like a cycle, but it is the process that enriches the actor the most. The duo talked a great deal about the intense learning process Aladdin gave them, a ‘milestone’ in their respective careers.
The conversation flowed from one topic to another, such as what the parallel castings/understudies have contributed to the play, the intense process of four months, giving 8-10 hours every day for rehearsals, creating something new daily and putting on a grand show.
Yet, one thing remained constant in all this — Aladdin would always be the heartthrob and Genie, magical!
