Two's Company

They make as charming a pair off-stage as on the rare occasions when they share the limelight. Actors Shruti Vyas and Namit Das, known for their comic timing and command of the craft, speak to Nittal Chandarana about their journey.

- Nittal Chandarana

While they were both keen on making it big early in their lives, neither imagined that the stage would be their calling. “I am an actor by chance, I had trained to be a singer. Music didn’t give me the right signals back in college, where the theatre scene was vibrant. I reasoned that acting was another way of expressing yourself. Till date I deny that I want to be one but somehow keep getting cast,” affirms Namit Das. For his better half Shruti Vyas, the profession literally beckoned her. “I was trying to be an airhostess before joining the theatre group Ekjute with my brother, Sumeet. While I was doing that, a British telefilm called Sharpe’s Challenge happened. I got that role in spite of speaking English terribly.”

From an initial phase of hesitance to the quiet confidence they now enjoy, the couple has cemented its place in Mumbai’s theatre circuit. It’s also not uncommon to see either of them on television — Das gained recognition post a Vodafone commercial. Vyas was the face of the OLX Womaniya campaign. Even though both have enjoyed the glamour of films, especially Das with Wake Up Sid