Veteran actor and thespian MK Raina opened up on the role of theatre in protests during the third day of the Jaipur Literature Festival 2025 on Saturday. The actor called Mahatma Gandhi the “greatest theatre director” and stated that people today need to learn from freedom fighters how to perform theatre correctly.
Speaking on the little to no support by the government to Indian theatre, Raina stated, “DNA of theatre, whether it is folk or experimental, is dissent. And the current government does not encourage theatre because clearly, they don’t want it. That’s the only explanation. They don’t like that.”
Turning a few pages of history, Raina quipped, “I call Mahatma Gandhi one of the greatest theatre directors. Look at his Dandi March — walking 300 km with millions of people and picking little bit of salt and stirring up a movement. Look at the impact it had!”
He went on to say, “We need to learn from the freedom movement. There were so many plays back then which are now in the archives of India. Look at how the writers and playwrights wrote scripts and directed plays and the British couldn’t catch them. Because it was done in such a beautiful way, the British could not point at any play and call it anti-national. Today you do anything and it’s anti-national. I think we need to go back a little. What’s happening with theatre in our country at this point is that we cannot make it anti-state.”
Through theatre, Raina has been a part of the cultural activism in Kashmir, his homeland, for several years now. Shedding light on the bond he shares with the locals there, the Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi actor said, “It doesn’t mean I am relevant if I am protesting in Delhi. I am relevant only when I have community with me.”
Further explaining his stance, Raina shared, “I work in Kashmir and from 2000 till date, and I never took a single security van with me. People have advised me that I should because there have been a couple of accidents and times when I could’ve been shot at. But I have always been protected by the village people. And that is when a theatre person becomes relevant. Your community makes you relevant.”
Towards the end of the session, Raina also clarified the stir that he caused by walking out of his panel discussion with singer-thespian Ila Arun on Friday. While some media reports stated that he walked out due to his stance on the ‘lousy’ depiction of Kashmir in films, Raina clarified that he stormed off because he was not given the time to speak.
“I did not intend to disrespect the ideas and conversations that we are bringing here. I did not walk away because of what the press is saying. I walked out because I did not get an equal opportunity to talk. While my fellow panelist indulged in giving monologues, singing and theatrics, I decided to quietly move myself out of the place,” he stated.
