Sampat Singh Rathore and his Veda Venues: Spaces to build communities of film and theatre talent

He could easily get into acting, given the good looks and a fit physique, coupled with a Hindi language proficiency that has only that hint of Marwari. But Sampat Singh Rathore would rather produce and nurture talent, than act. “I am a Marwari and a Commerce Graduate. Money matters and finance are my specialty. Why should I enter another field?”

Sampat was born in a small village in Rajasthan. His father has retired from the army. Rathore, who spoke Marwari till the age of 18, had his higher education in Pilani and New Delhi, where socialising and meeting places were Maggi Points, coffee houses and public parks. He had done a bit of theatre and modelling. When he shifted to Mumbai, he found that a lot of talented theatre and film ‘strugglers’ went to pubs, bars and clubs, to get noticed and bag assignments. This, he felt, was a waste of time and money, because a place where liquor flows, is not the right place to showcase your talent. Only performance counts. It used to be booked, on average, for 25 days in a month. Then came Covid. Simultaneously, theatre audiences were diminishing. I had feared the worst, but the opposite happened.”

“Instead of spending Rs. 400 to gain entry into such places, I advised them to get together 10 persons, with similar goals, raise Rs. 4,000, and perform in a drama theatre. But, in Mumbai, there was a dire shortage of venues, and the few that existed were beyond the reach of most artistes who had migrated to the city of dreams, mainly from north India. So, he built a theatre for them, the young independents, or indies, a small, 60-70 seater, in Aram Nagar, Andheri West, with very moderate charges, and a community atmosphere. He named it Veda Factory.

It opened in end 2018 and picked-up in early 2019. Actor Pankaj Kapur was one of the first known names to visit it. Soon, it became a haven for many gifted actors, directors, and behind the scenes workers. He has now renamed it the Veda Black Box. Of course, he realised that this down-market venue was not enough. So, he started thinking of a second place, where the Veda Kunba (family, clan) could grow. When Cine & TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) built its Tower, not too far from Aram Nagar, and close to the landmark Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital and Four Bungalows, on a road named after the late Vikram Gokhale, a renowned actor, he was asked whether he was interested in acquiring a part of its premises on the first and second floors. A visit followed, and he gave the nod. Work started in earnest after the end of Covid after Veda Factory, he now has a second venue, in the shape of Veda Kunba Theatre.

It cost several times the investment in Veda Factory, and this 224 seater opened its doors on 20^th December 2023, with a staging of Sir Sarla, directed by Makarand Deshpande. Before that, there was the lamp-lighting ceremony. Sir Sarla is the same play that I had seen two decades ago, at Prithvi Theatre, and in which, besides Makarand himself, there were Rajendra Gupta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Anurag Kashyap (as actor!), on stage. For this occasion, he wanted a ready play, to kick off proceedings. Makarand had just performed the play a few days earlier, in Jaipur, and it needed no rehearsals., was one of Sampat’s favourite plays – and he wanted Makarand to be there for the inauguration.

He has got great support in his endeavours, from the likes of Piyush Mishra, Sudhir Mishra, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Kumud Mishra, Paresh Rawal, Deepak Dobriyal, Ila Arun, KK Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Amit Behl, Manoj Joshi, and many others. Devashish Makhija, whose intelligently crafted film, Joram, is creating waves all over the world, is a close ally, and he and Sampat often work together on ideas.

On a visit to the Film Bazaar, held in Panaji, Goa, concurrently with the International Film Festival of India, he saw a film named Jhini Bini Chadariya, directed by Ritesh Sharma (former drama teacher at The Shri Ram School; writer, director and co-producer of Jhini Bini Chadariya). The shooting of the film was complete, but the post-production and release needed funding. Sampat came on board as a producer, and the film saw the light of day. It was screened at Dharamshala and Kerala film festivals, but Sampat could not attend the festivals, due to many commitments in Mumbai. This was Sampat’s first step into producing.

Another film, backed by Sampat, is on its way, called Sab Moh Maya Hai, directed by Abhinav Parekh, an old acquaintance and a dear friend, and starring Annu Kapoor and Sharman Joshi, and presented by Anurag Kashyap. It is based on a father-son relationship. Actor-director Yashpal Sharma is planning to hold and international film festival at Kunba, in the end of January, 2024. Sampat himself is planning a film festival at Kunba next year.

Veda Kunba is designed with the latest technology, acoustics, and lighting system to give the performers the freedom to explore, experiment, and film projection facilities will be installed soon. The opening was graced by glitterati of tinsel town and theatre, alike. “Veda Kunba Theatre will bring about a new theatre movement. It fills the lacuna of theatre spaces in Mumbai,” averred Makarand Deshpande.

Said Paresh Rawal, “I am very happy. I am glad Veda Kunba Theater has come up. Now it is up to the audiences to support plays,” he expressed.

Added Piyush Mishra, “Theatre artistes, directors and enthusiasts have been wanting a place like this. I am very happy about Sampat's initiative.”

“I want to do plays when I get the break between my projects,” expressed Pratik Gandhi, adding that he loved the ambience of Veda Kunba Theatre.

Deepak Dobriyal shared his thoughts, “Veda Kunba Theatre brings with it a new thought, a new venue, a new movement! It is such a beautiful venue for theatre, at the right place. It is located in the area where many actors live. So we can easily travel to watch plays here. I can come here every day.”

Actress Tina Ghai’s reaction on the occasion, “Sampat is a very warm person, and so is this theatre. And It is in our CINTAA Tower, right in the center of the place where many actors live. So we are very, very happy.”

“It takes a lot of guts to make a theatre hub. We, at CINTAA, are with him, in the running of this theatre, at every step,” said Ravi Jhankal.

Sampat Singh Rathore himself was elated. “It has been a long journey, it has been hard, but I am very happy. Prithvi Theatre is a temple. But there was scope for more venues. I am very happy that stalwarts like Naseerbhai (Naseeruddin Shah), and Seema Pahwa have also seen the place, and I am elated that they will also be performing here soon.”

The man himself, Sampat Singh Rathore, was very happy. “It's been a long journey; it's been tough but I'm very happy. The Earth is a temple. I started Veda Factory in 2018 and it inspired me to meet CINTAA and after 5 years, today, we could inaugurate it. I am very happy, I am happy that legends like Naseer Bhai and Seema Pahwa have also seen this place and I am happy that they too will perform here soon. I will be elated that if my initiative prompts other entrepreneurs to build spaces like Veda Black Box and Veda Kunba.” Also picking up pace is another Sampat initiative, Film Snoop, a platform to Spectate and Speculate.

A Marwari, who is making it big in the Mumbai film industry and theatre world, Sampat pointed out a fact that many would find hard to believe that almost all Marwaris doing business anywhere in India are millionaires, or billionaires, but back in the villages of Marwar, there a millionaire will be hard to find. Point to ponder? Maybe some playwright might find in this a subject for a one-act play.

I spoke to Sampat after the inauguration, when he gave me an exclusive interview.