Lillete Dubey is one of the pioneers in theatre and acting. A versatile actor in the true sense of the term, Lillete has been a part of several projects in India and also abroad. Her theatrical work has traveled globally and has been appreciated by both Indian and non-Indian audiences alike.
In an interview with Times Of India, Lillete was asked about how theatre is considered a stepping stone, she said, “I love doing films, OTT and all that but deep down my heart belongs to the theatre and everybody knows that. Even though I feel that, I completely understand why people treat it as a stepping stone to reach Bollywood. If you want to survive in a city like Mumbai, you cannot do it by working only in theatres. You have to be practical. We are not like western countries where a play runs for one year, six months or three months and they are paid decently. You can survive on it. But even there, the artists who are doing plays are doing ad films, short films and feature films in between their theatre engagements.”
She further added, “As an actor, you don’t commit that you will act only in theatres or films. However, I also see that some use theatre as a stepping stone to Bollywood. They do OTT shows, films and then forget all about the theatres. Although I don’t like that, I also don’t blame them. It is getting more and more difficult to do plays in Mumbai because between OTT, films, short films, ad and dubbings, people hardly have any time for theatres. As much as they love doing plays, they are not going to give up these other projects. People who are very established and who love doing theatres, they will make time. So I don’t blame young people because then how do you expect them to survive in a city like Mumbai. 90 percent of them live alone away from their family. If they really have a love for it, then I believe that they will come back. Many good actors that we see on OTT today are mostly theatre personalities. Actors like Jaideep Ahlawat, Pankaj Tripathi, and others are just amazing. These people have helped in the big change.”