CHANDIGARH: In today's day and age, where the glamour of the silver screen and the obsession with celebrity status is the driving force for many artists, theatre artist Chakresh Kumar feels the medium has maintained its sanctity. Armed with 15 years of experience in theatre, painting, music, dubbing, voice over, direction and production, Kumar feels theatre gives people a chance to dive into the depths of the different roles and enrich themselves. He says the Yuva Puraskar he received in Tripura entails great responsibility. Although he feels privileged, he stays grounded. "It most certainly adds to one's worth and recognition, but it has not gone to my head," he says. "I am still as passionate about theatre as I was when I joined and I still have the thirst to do more. Receiving an award should not kill your desire to know and do more," he adds. A childhood spent across the country with each culture branding vivid images in his mind set the stage for a lifetime in theatre. From actor, he became director and an accomplished one at that. He also founded the Alankar theater group in Chandigarh, which doesn't just do professional theatre but also works with underprivileged children. Talking about the challenges posed by cinema, Kumar says cinema does not have to limit itself at any given point. But he also feels the human potential in theatre allows continuous expansion. Smiling at a question on his role model, Kumar said he admired a "chai wala" the most, as they infused life into people, do not own much materialistically but manage to live happily. Kumar ended the conversation saying he wants to play Hitler someday. "It is Hitler's single minded thought process that turned him into a dictator. I would like to explore that psyche as I am hugely fascinated by psychological protagonists," he says.

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