Art is my life, I can never have enough of it: Maltesh Badigar

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Theatre artist, director, and scriptwriter Maltesh Badigar has been on a journey with his Kannada roots imbibed deep within him. He has displayed his rich cultural ties by staging 120 plays in both urban and rural settings for the past 30 years.

Speaking to News Trail about his journey into art and discovery, Maltesh saidthat he studied painting for five years back in the ’90s. Shortly after this, he did a two-year course at the Ninasam, which is home to many great and cherished artists of Karnataka, like Girish Karnad, Kambar, Darshan Thoogudeepa, and Sathish Ninasam.

“I started off by making masks, designing the sets, makeup, and mimicry during my early days at the drama school, after a year I was joined by a group of 20 theatre artists and we went on a ‘Tiraghatta’ during which I got to perform in various settings and got to entertain people coming from urban and rural backgrounds. This was also the time I was deeply invested in art and felt liberated through my expression,” Maltesh said.

He reminisced about those days when he was a young and adventurous boy of 23. He shortly moved to Bengaluru and participated in local theatre competitions. His play Mahadevi gained a lot of recognition and kickstarted his career as a director and a multidisciplinary artist in theatre arts.

Some of his plays are based on realism, while some are set in socialism with a blend of mythology. He married his junior Chavya Bhargavi, a fellow theatre artist and together they run the ‘Adhamya’ which is a group of theatre artists comprising fresh faces and talent.

”I have a mini theatre and studio at home; I spend most of my day there. I am also constantly moving around the city to perform. Art is my life; I can never have enough of it.” He trains 700 students in acting for Independence Day and Republic day celebrations which are performed at the Rashtriya Vidyalaya