Events & Personalities
Drama’s dynamic duo
To celebrate the life and contribution of theater stalwarts Ruby and Burjor Patel, the drama group Thespo presented them with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the Thespo 14 awards night. The function, on December 16, 2012 at the Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Bombay, was a fitting finale to Thespo’s annual festival held at Prithvi Theatre from December 11 to 16, 2012, notes a press release sent to Parsiana by the group.
The ceremony kicked off with a short film encapsulating the Patels’ work and lives, with adman, playwright and producer Rahul da Cunha saluting them as "the first couple of Gujarati theater.” Alyque Padamsee, president of Theatre Group shared "wonderful memories” from his days working with Burjor Patel Productions, reiterating that "the passion and dedication that the Patels brought to the theater would make the art last forever… Burjor and Ruby have this wonderful frisson… (which) comes from the heart. You can have Sartre write plays, but the real plays are written by people who write, not with a pen, but with the heart.”
When the duo stepped on stage to accept their award the audience rose to give them a standing ovation. Speaking on behalf of his wife and himself, Burjor said, "I did not know theater had a Lifetime Achievement Award. Theater goes on forever. It doesn’t end with a lifetime.” He spoke about Ruby’s career, his life in theater, the dynamics of the stage and their thoughts on their vocation, concluding with sage advice for young theater enthusiasts. "There are those who accept situations, and those who rise to change. If it can be done better, do it. If there is a solution, state it. If you want to do it differently, get a move on, and get it done.”
The kind of audience support the Patels have earned for themselves, singly and together is rarely seen in the theatrical arts, mentions the write-up. Perhaps the "most loved and respected in the fraternity today,” since the late 1940s they have 65 plays under their belt, including the latest hit, Laughter in the House, a tribute to the late Adi Marzban.
Their daughter, well-known stage and screen personality Shernaz Patel, who presented the award to the outstanding male actor on the occasion, said, "I was sitting there and thinking about what it was like when I was 25… I’m just so envious.” "Youngsters tend to see these theater and college competitions as the end. It’s just the beginning. There’s a lot of potential. There’s a long way to go,” added Shaili Sathu, who is active in the field.
The ceremony kicked off with a short film encapsulating the Patels’ work and lives, with adman, playwright and producer Rahul da Cunha saluting them as "the first couple of Gujarati theater.” Alyque Padamsee, president of Theatre Group shared "wonderful memories” from his days working with Burjor Patel Productions, reiterating that "the passion and dedication that the Patels brought to the theater would make the art last forever… Burjor and Ruby have this wonderful frisson… (which) comes from the heart. You can have Sartre write plays, but the real plays are written by people who write, not with a pen, but with the heart.”When the duo stepped on stage to accept their award the audience rose to give them a standing ovation. Speaking on behalf of his wife and himself, Burjor said, "I did not know theater had a Lifetime Achievement Award. Theater goes on forever. It doesn’t end with a lifetime.” He spoke about Ruby’s career, his life in theater, the dynamics of the stage and their thoughts on their vocation, concluding with sage advice for young theater enthusiasts. "There are those who accept situations, and those who rise to change. If it can be done better, do it. If there is a solution, state it. If you want to do it differently, get a move on, and get it done.”
The kind of audience support the Patels have earned for themselves, singly and together is rarely seen in the theatrical arts, mentions the write-up. Perhaps the "most loved and respected in the fraternity today,” since the late 1940s they have 65 plays under their belt, including the latest hit, Laughter in the House, a tribute to the late Adi Marzban.
Their daughter, well-known stage and screen personality Shernaz Patel, who presented the award to the outstanding male actor on the occasion, said, "I was sitting there and thinking about what it was like when I was 25… I’m just so envious.” "Youngsters tend to see these theater and college competitions as the end. It’s just the beginning. There’s a lot of potential. There’s a long way to go,” added Shaili Sathu, who is active in the field.
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