Deepti Naval photographed at an event.
Veteran actress Deepti Naval, who recently made her debut in theatre, said that she should have explored theatre 30 years ago.
Ms Naval's play
Ek Mulaqat was staged in an auditorium in Delhi on September 20. She played the role of author Amrita Pritam. The play explored the author's relationship with Urdu poet, Sahir Ludhianvi, whose role was played by actor Shekhar Suman.
"I realised that theatre is very exciting and comfortable. I should have done it 30 years ago. I was scared that I will forget lines while performing," Ms Naval told IANS.
However, Ms Naval said that she was nervous before playing her role.
"I was nervous because Delhiites are familiar with Amrita Pritam and her work and they might judge my character. At the same time I was excited as a Delhi audience can crack the Punjabi and Urdu dialogues unlike the Mumbai audience," she said.
Though Ms Naval was apprehensive about playing Amrita Pritam as she shared a close relationship with her, she realised it was the best way to pay tribute to her friend. "We shared a lovely relationship and I knew her from 1981. She was the quintessential voice of Punjabi literature and she would recite poems for me," she added.
Ms Naval, who was aware of Amrita Pritam's passion for Sahir Ludhianvi, said that Amrita explained her passion for Sahir through her writings. However, Sahir was never open about it.
"He was commitment-phobic though he too reciprocated her love," she added.
Ek Mulaqat has been written and directed by Saif Hyder Hasan.