In conversation with thespian, dramatist, director and writer Tom Alter

Padma Shree awardee Thomas Beach Alter comes across as a patient man. But he does snap. Especially, if one prods him much on his thoughts on “Bollywood and typecasting”. To him, the phenomenon (if it could be called such) is a journalistic term (his words, not mine) coined by “lazy scribes” who snip careers spanning over 40 years and tin them into 40-minutes-worth of non-researched stories. “Before you say typecast, do appreciate what an actor has done in that so-called typecast role. Look at the quality of work that Amitabh Bachchan has done as the ‘angry young man’ in 25 brilliant films. Observe Prem Chopra, Amjad Khan or Pran’s legacies. Their work defined the way villains were perceived,” says he. For those wondering who Mr Thomas Beach Alter is, he is none other than the veteran actor, director and author—Tom Alter. Alter’s grandparents were the first to travel and settle in India in 1916. By the time the third generation was born, the family’s ties with India were firmly rooted. Thus, it is not surprising that he gets just a little impatient when prodded one too many times about his “foreigner” status (especially since he is not one), his impeccable English, Hindi and Urdu diction (his father read an Urdu Bible and Alter is fluent in all three tongues), American passport (which he submitted years ago) and being a firang in an industry which, he insists, treats its participants far more kindly than observers give it credit for. “I yearn to be asked questions about my craft and about its challenges!” he lets you know. And he is eager to talk about the 100 years of Indian cinema and the journey thus far. “Look at the themes being explored today. New filmmakers are looking at politics, violence, corruption and sex from newer angles—we are less guarded now. I am talking of mass films being made for a wider audience base.” All in all, Alter comes across as a kind man, and one suspects, a bit of an optimist. As a student of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, he predicted that two of his batchmates would be stars one day. “I was on my way back to the campus (FTII) when I was stopped by two of my batchmates late in the night. They were worried about an acting project and wanted my opinion on it. I told them to continue acting. They were bound to be famous.” Years later, one of them, Mithun Chakraborty, became the nation’s favourite disco dancer, while the other, Sunil Kapoor immortalised the rogue-meets-jester villain as Shakti Kapoor. It was also at FTII that he met Naseeruddin Shah (a senior) and Benjamin Gilani. In 1979 they began Motley—their own theatre production company. However, as a fresh graduate Alter was more focused on Hindi films in particular and on being a “hero”. He was a sports teacher at a small school at Jagadhri in Haryana in the early 1970s when Alter fell in love. It all began in a darkened theatre with Aradhana involving the hero-heroine-villain triumvirate, romance, music and theatrics of celluloid. However, he did not let his aspirations be known. Even when he sent an application to FTII (written in Hindi, of course) he had not told a soul. But, by the time he reached the main Mussourie bazaar from the post office, news had travelled anyway. If his acquaintances were surprised by his choice, so was his FTII interview panel. Its members were apparently in splits by the time Alter’s skit was over; they were not mocking him but laughing at their incredulous expressions upon hearing a Caucasian man talk in chaste Hindi. Even Amjad Khan “mock searched” Alter for a recorder when he first heard him speak. But, we are getting ahead of ourselves. Post-FTII, Alter got his first break in the Dev Anand-starrer Sahib Bahadur directed by Chetan Anand. His first release was Ramanand Sagar’s Charas in which he played the hero—Dharmendra's—Interpol boss. “The character was supposed to be based out of Malta and obviously we shot in Mumbai,” he laughs. Though he was an “Interpol boss”, Alter played an Indian and spoke with a Punjabi accent. He insists that he played a “typically foreign” character just once. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Alter acted alongside a number of megastars; and yes, he did meet Rajesh Khanna who was “delighted” to hear that Aradhana got Alter into acting. The actor was directed by stalwarts as well; V Shantaram, Raj Kapoor, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Manmohan Desai, Manoj Kumar and Satyajit Ray—the latter being the most “artistically organised” director who he had worked for. “Manikda (as Ray was known) was truly a master of his craft. He was prepared when he came to the sets. His sense of aesthetics was impeccable.” If you think that Alter stayed within the confines of Hindi cinema, you are mistaken. He has acted in regional films—Bengali, Assamese, Telegu, Tamil and Kumaoni—and in several he played the hero. He also became a vital part of Indian television with the tele-serial Junoon which ran for five years, and was a part of the delightful ensemble comedy Zabaan Sambhalke, an Indianised version of BBC’s Mind Your Language. Over the years Alter also accumulated an envious body of theatrical work, which included William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns and the critically acclaimed solo play Maulana. Though, he did hate us (journalists) a bit more for it—Alter grudgingly replied that his recent role as a teacher in Ocean of an Old Man was one of the emotionally distraught roles that he had done in his recent career. Strangely, the actor made a conscious decision of choosing few international stints—one of them being One Night With The King with the legendary Peter O’Toole. This Jack of all trades; a former sports journalist who actively wrote between 1980s and early 1990s; author of one fiction and two non-fiction books; and a stage and television director, has chosen Mumbai as his home. His months are split between writing, directing and acting. In between, there is little time for negativity—perhaps that is why his faith in the country in general, and in the Hindi film industry in particular, remains unshakable.