All the world is a stage for Bengaluru's Bugs

Bhargava Krishna as Pontius Pilate in Alyque Padamsee's 'Jesus Christ Superstar'.

From Bengaluru to Mumbai, Bhargava Krishna aka Bugs (60), has straddled theatre, advertising, and films with aplomb. He has directed and acted in several plays and musicals. Krishna has also produced numerous top-notch ads.

His role in Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’, his voice for King Louie in the movie ‘Jungle Book’ and his ad line ‘Taste the Thunder’ are memorable.

In 2019, he directed his debut Bollywood suspense thriller ‘Barot House’. This year, Krishna wrote and directed ‘Nail Polish’, another thriller that explores the uncertainty of the human mind. Krishna spoke to Showtime about his versatile career. Excerpts:

Tell us about your love for acting

As a kid, I was role-playing constantly, trying to build regular characters. I would go back to playing and being these creatures, creating an inner life and motivation for them.

When did your stint with theatre begin?

In Bengaluru, I acted in school and college plays. Later, I did a six-week drama course. I read lots of plays and did workshops with theatre groups.

At 18, I set up a theatre group called Bard with Dilshad Thacker, my friend then and wife now. Our debut play was Neil Simon’s ‘Barefoot in the Park’. Then, Deccan Herald, who were planning to launch a theatre festival, invited many theatre groups. This made it easy for us to stage plays.

Your advertising career began in Mumbai...

Alyque Padamsee offered me a job at Lintas. It was a struggle in Mumbai to survive on a meagre salary of Rs 500 and working myself up to Rs 1,000.

I set my eyes on Rediffusion, an agency everyone was in awe of. I met Arun Nanda, its owner, who saw my scribbles and offered me a job on a monthly pay of Rs 3,300.

You have worked in iconic ads...

Be it Thumbs Up, Kingfisher’s King of Good Times, God’s Own Country or India Tourism, I’ve done many popular ads. I was a creative director on the team that launched Hyundai Santro, directing a clutch of commercials with Shah Rukh Khan.

I worked with RS Agarwal, chairman of Emami, for 20 years and learned a lot. I worked with Alyque on a whole lot of brands. Writing the ‘Tata Sons Century of Trust’ was special. I still work with Emami and Tatas.

Has advertising changed due to the social media boom?

We are still coming to terms with the changes. Brand conversations are now a reality. The consumer talks back to you, either praising or criticising you. The brand is now a personality, a being. The brand relationship is no longer one-dimensional.

How did you balance advertising with theatre?

Someone said getting into Lintas for a theatre person was as good as getting into the National School of Drama. That proved to be true. Alyque put me in touch with Pearl Padamsee, with whom I did a lot of theatre. I worked closely with Alyque on the musical Evita, acting, writing lyrics, and doing commentary. I have had a fruitful association with Mahesh Dattani, Noel Godin, and Rahul DaCunha.

How did cinema happen?

Doing stuff in front of the camera began with The Mathemagic Show for television. It did very well, spawning a Hindi version too. Later, with friends, we conceptualised and directed the Bournvita Quiz, bringing Derek O’Brien to TV. Much later, I was cast in ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and I played small roles in ‘Delhi Belly’, ‘Aashiqui’, ‘Murder 3’, ‘Kaminey’, ‘Dum Maaro Dum’, ‘Half Girlfriend’, and ‘A Suitable Boy’.

Was transitioning from theatre to cinema easy?

I was lucky to cut my teeth in theatre and advertising. Both these prepared me for films.

What are your memories of growing up in Bengaluru?

There never was and will never be another city in the world like Bengaluru I grew up in. It’s a city that allowed us the time and pace to discover ourselves, our friendships, and our interests.

(The writer is an independent journalist and author.)