Winsome ways

Gravitating towards the stage very early in life was, in fact, a natural move, with both her parents being theatre persons themselves. “I received my theatre training early – on school and college stages – and was still in college when I did Janam.” The one-time experience was, however, enough for her to decide that her strength lay in theatre. “Film-making is a different technique altogether, and though I have nothing against the medium, I just felt that theatre suited me better.”

What followed was a series of plays (15 to date) with the brilliant Love Letters being the closest to her heart. “It’s so beautifully scripted, and I had the opportunity to actually live a life – from eight to 60 years of age. I have been very lucky to get a lot of great plays like The Diary of Anne Frank, Six Degrees of Separation and Letters To My Daughter, where I played Indira Gandhi.”

Does she find a lot of change in the current lot of serials as compared to the Khandaan days? “Tremendous. Khandaan was made on a lavish scale, with a lot of stress on quality. Now serials are more or less churned out, with quantity replacing quality.”

Shernaz has her own television company – Aries Films – that makes documentaries and corporate films. Incidentally, the couple of years when she seemed to have done the disappearing act were actually spent by her at UTV. “It took up all my time. So I took a break from theatre. Soon, I got my priorities right – I gave up the job and returned to the stage. Now I have my own company, which means I can regulate my hours and make time for theatre as required.”

Returning to the stage with Love Letters, Shernaz discovered a welcome change in theatre. “There has been a lot of growth, especially in the realm of experimental theatre. Twelve years ago, we couldn’t have staged more than five shows of a play like Six Degrees of Separation, which is being readily accepted today. What has not changed is the paucity of Indian writing in English theatre, lack of good theatres in Mumbai and the fact that you still cannot survive on theatre alone.”

Incidentally, Shernaz is not exactly a stranger to Pune, having done a two-month German language course at the Max Mueller Bhavan here. “I love Pune. It’s a perfect blend of a city and a town.”

Venturing into her personal life, you find that Shernaz is 34 and unmarried. “And I am not seeing anyone either,” she adds before you can ask her the obvious. Is she bent on remaining single? “Oh no, I would love to get married.” And what are the qualities she is looking for in a match? “Intelligence and a sense of humour – they are indispensable,” smiles the Scorpio woman without the sting.