Rajeshwar Singh ‘Raju’
“The more you sweat in training
The less you bleed in War”
These are the words of an ace performer Balwinder Pal Singh, who believes that it’s only training that shapes you as an actor and inspires you to step in the character with all confidence that you perform on stage and spell bound the audience. It’s quite good to notice such feelings in a young talented and energetic actor whereas there are many who look for short cuts to excel in art field.
Theatre needs observation, imagination and hard work. One should have the grasping power to portray on stage what is conceived. It needs rehearsals which bring near perfection. The rehearsals show colour during performance when you have to prove your worth and there is no option rather than to live your character on the stage. When you are open to audience, then it’s only your sheer talent that comes to your rescue. But that talent needs be polished and rehearsals serve the purpose.
Balwinder hails from a remote area Lander Diggi of Tehsil Pancheri , District Udhampur. He, after completing his schooling from Army Public School Udhampur, completed B.E. in Electronics and Communications from G.C.E.T. Jammu. His father is an Ex-serviceman and mother a housewife. During his schooling, he was fascinated towards army uniform which inspired him to participate in numerous NCC camps and taught him discipline and punctuality, an integral part of Theatre. His attraction for uniform showed its impact when he joined as Sub-Inspector in JKP and is currently posted in Special security Force at Raj Bhawan Jammu.
He started as an actor with NATRANG, an internationally acclaimed theatre group of the soil. He learned the basics of acting from Neeraj kant, whom he regards as his first Guru in the field and gave promising performances in every role that he portrayed on stage in different theatre productions like ‘Bawa Jitto’, ‘Ghumayee’, ‘Suno Ek Kahani’ etc, directed by Padmashri Balwant Thakur. Thereafter, he got an opportunity to prove his talent in main role in ‘Nagar Udhas’ written and directed by Padmashri Moti Lal Kemu. He was also a part of International Theatre Olympiad-2018 wherein he was protagonist in ‘Bhand Duhaee’ and ‘Tota aur Maina’ under the direction of eminent theatre, television and film personality Ravi Kemu. With these highly acclaimed productions Balwinder has carved a niche as a performer in theatre arena. In addition to these he has also played commendable roles in ‘Court martial’, ‘Julius Caser’, ‘Kirayedar’, ‘Ek Panna Gumnam’, ‘Kunju Chanchlo’, ‘Toote Rishtey Khalkati Sarhaden’, ‘Satyata ki Udaan’, ‘Tandav’, ‘Ghalib at Quarantine’ etc . He has also worked under the direction of Vijay Goswami, Rajneesh Gupta, Sandeep Verma and Abhishek Bharti etc. In order to quench his thirst for learning, he attended workshops organized by National School of Drama (NSD) and FTII alumni that helped him to understand the craft even better.
Balwinder knows the thin line between acting for Theatre, Aakashwani and television and has adopted these techniques with all excellence thereby putting in his soul in each character for different mediums of expression. He has proved his mettle in many short movies and tele-serials. His much talked about works include the character of martyr Tushar Mahajan portrayed in ‘Tushar-The Immortal’ and a Gojri movie in which he has played main character. He is also Drama approved voice from Aakashwani Jammu and has performed key characters in numerous radio plays.
Balwinder knows it well that when you have to perform a particular role, you need to work on all details related to it like costumes, hair style, movements and mannerism etc. These are the expressions that prove your versatility as a performer for which you need repeated rehearsals without getting fed up of the same. You need to have a passion for what you are doing. He admits that it’s sheer commitment that he gets so much involved in the character and the theatre lovers react with immediate response much to his satisfaction. At that time, the feel that the performer experiences can’t be described in words. But he also knows that you have to improve production after production and the affection with the work helps you to move even more closely to perfection despite knowing that perfection is an illusion thus inspiring the performers to improve with every performance.
He is of the opinion that a performer should keep learning different aspects of acting from time to time. Like, while performing as Ghalib in ‘Ghalib in Quarantine’, he took training in singing from eminent music composer Brij Mohan who is a tough task master and is known not to make compromise. He learnt the basics of singing that helped him a lot to portray Ghalib with ease.
It’s a fact that if the performer is not comfortable then how may he or she perform with excellence? You need to have in-depth knowledge of the character you are going to perform and other related characters also. You should also know the backdrop of the situations and sequences that build up a play. For it, you should have a habit of reading. Balwinder makes it a point not only to read the script again and again for proper work on the script but also reads others books related to the contents therein. It helps him to understand the character better and step on the stage with all confidence which is quite evident production after production.
In present times, when everyone is hankering after glamorous mediums like television and films, his inclination for theatre is admirable. What means dedication and devotion is quite obvious from a passionate performer like Balwinder. While concluding, I would like to add here that when you have made up your mind to prove yourself in whatever mediums of expression, then this uncertain field demands only honest approach from your side. If you are honest enough from the core of your heart, then, only sky is the limit.
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