Shweta Tripathi Sharma: The stage has given me my husband

Actor Shweta Tripathi Sharma, who owns a theatre company today, holds a rather special relationship with the stage. Two plays, in particular, gave her the wings to dream to be a performer. As we catch up with her on World Theatre Day, she tells us, “I remember watching a play where Yashpal Sharma (actor) was performing. There was a scene on the top of a train, and I fell in love with it. Then there was a musical called Graffiti choreographed by Shiamak Davar and Roshan Abbas had directed, which I remember very vividly.”

But the biggest gift that the stage has given her is her husband, rapper Chaitanya Sharma, popularly known as Slow Cheetah. It was during a play that they met for the first time. “An amazing thing that the stage has given me is my husband. We were the understudies for a play. Two actors weren’t available and both of us had to step in,” recalls the 36-year-old actor.

She shares that he even proposed her for marriage on the stage of a popular comics and community theatre in Mumbai. The Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein actor says, “On our way back from Delhi, we got chatting. In a week’s time, we began dating and now it has been almost nine years. In fact, the stage is so important to us that Cheetah proposed to me on a stage of Cuckoo Club (Mumbai).”

One of her biggest desires is to travel the world and catch as many musicals and stage plays as possible with her husband. “Cheetah and I keep discussing that we want to travel the world and watch different performances. It’s important to remain inspired. And this idea came from (Kunal) Kemmu and Soha (Ali Khan), who used to do this,” says Sharma.

Is a play featuring her and Slow Cheetah in the pipeline? “I’m waiting to act with him. The rehearsals are going to be a lot of fun!” she ends with a laugh.