Multifaceted : Arundhati Bhalerao

The talent of acting was always in her blood, courtesy of her parents, who were established actors during their times. It was the theatre that got her parents together and they were forever tied in the beautiful bond of marriage. Arundhati Bhalerao, who was born in Wardha, is the product of this artistic relationship.

“My father used to run Kala Saurabh Academy and it was there where my father met my mother. My parents boasted of a strong academic background, and acting simply added to their repertoire. I am indeed grateful to be born to such wonderful parents, who gave me a free hand and allowed me to fly. The culture of art and encouragement to pursue a career in the field was always there at home. While I turned to acting, one of my sisters took up singing. I vividly remember I used to accompany my father to watch plays. Our parents always motivated us to take part in competitions. More than winning, they believed in participation,” reminisces Arundhati.

She further adds, “I was a very curious child. Whenever we went to watch Tamasha, I used to peep inside the tent to know more about the actors.” Right from her childhood, Arundhati worked for Yuvakbiradri, which gave her tremendous confidence and helped her to get rid of any sort of stage fear, thereby improving her communication skills. With self-belief in her armoury she participated in many youth festivals. Being born and brought up in a relatively small city as Wardha, Arundhati was always fascinated about Mumbai, which is the city of dreams.

As fortune favoured her, she settled in Thane, which is just adjacent to Mumbai, after getting married. She mentions, “When I came to Mumbai for the first time, I watched the one act play Varhad Nighalay Londonla. I was so inspired by that, that I started performing one act plays myself. Avhahan was the one act play that I performed on a regular basis. Gradually, through word of mouth, I established myself as an actor and people would invite me to their family functions to perform.”

Despite the fact that acting ran in her blood, Arundhati was determined to seek a formal education in the field. She completed her Bachelors of Dramatics from Aurangabad under the guidance of late Laxman Deshpande. One of her batchmates during the course was Makrand Anaspure, who is now a famous Marathi actor. She also has a Masters degree in Dramatics and Bachelors degree in Education (B.Ed), in addition to MA in Psychology, Ph.D and a degree in Journalism.

After settling down in Thane, a city which was new to her, she took up a teaching job. Arundhati avers, “I took up a job of a teacher so that I could invest my time in my family alongside working, since my husband used to be on tours for his work. With a baby at home, it was important for me to strike a balance between home and work. Juggling between work and raising my daughter, I had no time to pursue my passion which was Acting. There was a time when I lost my confidence as I was confined to my house and didn’t know whether I would ever be able to pursue my passion.”

Her world of home and teaching job slowly expanded as she met Sudhakar Chavan in due course of time. She shared her intention of starting a drama class in his school. With no hesitation, Chavan offered Bhalerao a place where she could start her class. Arundhati says, “I would stand on the road and distribute pamphlets of my drama class. I got 10-15 students but I didn’t enjoy my work as the area was small and I felt as if I was cheating people.”

After moving out of the drama class in two months, Arundhati worked as a news anchor in a local news channel run by late Sriram Bhide. During that time, she worked alongside Sopan Bongane to organize her first drama workshop. That was just the beginning, as she went on to start drama classes that were active all-year round not only for youngsters but also for adults. She recalls, “When I organized my first drama workshop, it was only for children. Parents who had accompanied their kids for the workshop saw my work and insisted on having drama classes for them too.” Seeking inspiration from the compliments that she received, Arundhati started drama classes for women and in 2009, she set a play named “Baykanchi Swari Rajachya Dwari”, which had an all women cast.

Adding feathers to her drama class, Prarambha Kala Academy, Arundhati started anchoring workshops too. So far, more than 10,000 students have been trained under her able tutelage. She states, “Women were very happy to learn because those who didn’t get the opportunity in their childhood or those who were compelled to give up their hobby due to family commitments, were back to enjoying what they loved doing with Prarambha Kala Academy.”

With regards to children, she elucidates, “Before doing a children’s play, I ask them to research and then I get the story ready. Logic is necessary in a children’s story. Children are usually very curious and through plays you get the opportunity to develop their thought process. We did a play named Santanchi Mandiyali, which helped the children to know about the famous Indian saints. We also did a play named San (festival) yeti Ghara, to understand the importance of festivals in India, which is a land of festivities.” She adds, “At a time, I take only 20 students and work rigorously on them. I encourage the children to do everything, right from character development to music to dialogue writing.” In addition to Marathi plays, Arundhati has enjoyed linguistic excellence as she has directed Gujarati, Bengali and Kannada plays. She has written several books to date. Even after 20 years of working in the field of acting, she continues to spread her knowledge through her teachings and writings.

Apart from teaching dramatics to its students, Prarambha Kala Academy, a charity organization, has been involved in several social works. Arundhati explains, “We organize cancer awareness programme for poor and daily wage female labourers, which includes mammography, sonography, breast checking and papsmear test. We distribute multivitamin tablets to the needy. We also conduct art-based activities in old-age homes and orphanages.”

Arundhati, who has always enjoyed support from her husband Ashutosh and daughter Anandita, has won several awards in the past, to name a few, are Thane Navadurga award, Thane Kala Ratna award, Thane Nagar Ratna award and Thane Gaurav award. She has also featured in India Book of Records for maximum dramas/plays.

Before signing off, Arundhati shares, “Art plays an important role in one’s life. It is a therapy or a medicine to treat any kind of mental health issue. I encourage one and all to pursue some or the other form of art, which will not only be a source of enjoyment for them but also keep them young and rejuvenated.”