Raj Bisaria saheb taught me about life… I lost a father figure

Raj Bisaria saheb was my first boss, teacher, mentor, guru, and friend who taught me so many things apart from the field of acting. He taught me about life, food, drinks, and how to use cutlery. To be in Lucknow and to be a classy man like him was both contrasting and amazing. He was royalty in the real sense, and he lived truly like a royal man in the literal sense. It was a treat to see him sitting down in a suit. His posture, composition, righteous attitude, dressing up, and his sense of life everything was impeccable.

Sometimes I feel he was in the wrong city, though the city was very good to him. He should have been in New York or a bigger city where people understood him better. But, his heart was in this heritage city of Lucknow and he took pride in it. Theatre owes a lot to him. He was the doyen of the theatre of not only for Lucknow but the whole of India! He was just amazing.

I knew about him before I came to Lucknow in June 1979. I joined Bhartendu Natya Academy (BNA) as a teacher, and he was my head of department (founder-director). I was 23-24 (years) and it was my first job after my drama school. He taught me how to teach and we developed a camaraderie. Ever since, whenever I was in Lucknow, a visit to Raj saheb used to be on my itinerary. On my last trip too, I went to his home. We had dinner together...there are so many memories that I will cherish forever.

I lost a father figure. Unfortunately, I lost two people today – Raj Bisaria and actor Kavita Choudhury. It’s a sad day for me and my heart goes out to Kiranji (his wife). I called her up yesterday and said: “Kiranji you are being brave but your contribution to Raj saheb’s life has been unbelievable.” She always took the back seat and let Bisaria saheb bask in the glory that he deserved. My heart goes out to her.