Hiten Tejwani returns to his first love with a new stage comedy that sees him play a philandering cab driver
Hiten Tejwani during the rehearsal of I Love You 2 in Andheri East. Pic/Satej Shinde
When playwright Sanjay Jha started working on the script of I Love You 2, he was sure that only television actor Hiten Tejwani could pull off the protagonist's role, that of a smart alec with two wives. "They wanted someone who looks innocent, but is not. And, apparently, I fit the bill. Though, for me, the thought of having two wives is unthinkable," laughs Tejwani, who is married to former model and television actress Gauri Pradhan.
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After a hiatus from theatre, Tejwani will return to stage in a Hindi drama. Titled, I Love You 2, it's a smart comedy about the lives of Kishan (Hiten Tejwani), and his two wives — the obedient and devoted Meera (Toral Rasputra) and the sassy Maria (Falguni Rajani).
It's a sweltering Wednesday afternoon when we meet Tejwani at Andheri's Orchid Hall, where he has been rehearsing since 7 am. But there's hardly a hint of exhaustion. "That's because I love theatre and I began my career with it 17 years ago," he tells us.
Hiten Tejwani during the rehearsal of I Love You 2 in Andheri East. Pic/Satej Shinde
In the play, Tejwani plays a Mumbai cabbie who wants the best of both worlds, with Meera, the first wife who lives at Pedder Road, and Maria, the second wife who stays at Walkeshwar. But, trouble erupts when he goes missing. The play takes a hilarious turn when he finds himself hopelessly entangled in a muddle and must find a way out. "Given the nature of the subject, the rehearsals, too, have been a laugh riot. We crack up on stage because of all the jokes," he says. The camaraderie between the actors is smooth since he's shared the stage with most of them in the past. In fact, he was seen with Toral Rasputra (Anandi) in the popular soap, Balika Vadhu.
Earlier this year, Tejwani along with Rakhi Tandon, Ruhanna Khan, Vishal Vashishtha and Sushmita Mukherjee had to bid adieu to the soap, Gangaa, due to a revamp in the storyline. "While the show was doing fabulously, the makers felt they wanted a whole new star cast to take the story ahead. So they replaced the entire family. It was a creative decision and I respect that," he says. The silver lining was that it allowed Tejwani to return to theatre which he had put on the back burner. "Theatre requires single-minded commitment. You need to rehearse over and over again, because there are no retakes here. When television offers started coming my way, I couldn't devote that kind of time to it," he says. Moreover, the opportunity to be part of a comedy was exciting. "I've always been offered serious, intense roles. But I love comedy and I dabbled in it when I was doing theatre." Tejwani, however, had to polish his comic timing and that was possible only with practice. "We did several play readings to understand the character and then moved to rehearsing on stage."
After premiering on March 11 at Bhaidas Auditorium, it will see consecutive shows on March 12 and 13 at Bandra's Rang Sharda and Sophia Auditorium at Pedder Road. "For now, I'm going to concentrate on theatre and will take up television only if I find a role that truly excites me," he says.
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