Since the completion of The Winter of Love (formerly ‘A Quiet Desperation’), many of the actors who appeared in the film have gone on to create amazing projects.Pravesh played the part of Anil in The Winter of Love who pays a high price for love. Although a brief appearance in the film, Anil’s character is central to the development of Preeti’s character which culminates in tragedy.

Pravesh Kumar, who appears as a memory for one of the key protagonists in the film, Preeti, played by Gurpreet Bhatti, has since created a successful theatre company, RIFCO who have in the past produced box office sensation with productions such as Bollywood 2000 and Deranged Marriage.

Here is an extract of an interview with Pravesh which appeared in BBC Berkshire:

“Pravesh Kumar is a successful theatre director from Slough. He is head of RIFCO, the resident company at the new theatre venue in the town, the West Wing. What makes this all the more remarkable is that there was no theatre there when he was young.

Where did you grow up?

“I grew up in Slough, my mother’s still there, and I work there every day at the West Wing, which is part of Arbour Vale School.”

That’s a new venue for Slough, isn’t it?
“Yes, it’s the only new venue we’ve had for 20 years, so it’s wonderful to have a space now where we can put on professional work, and receive other touring work from around the country. It’s about time. We did have something in the early ’80s which closed down. We can now develop our arts scene, which is way behind any other city or town. We’re going to do a great deal of work with the community… It’s a studio space, which is about 250 seats.”

With no theatres in Slough, how did you get interested in the arts?
“At the Westgate School in Cippenham. We had a strong focus at the time on drama, which seems to have changed now. Then I went onto Langley College (now East Berkshire college), I was the only non-white student on the performing arts course. Also I worked at the cinema. Then I got into the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in Wandsworth, an acting degree for three years. Before the end of the course I was offered the lead in a show at Stratford East, ‘Moti Roti’. That launched my acting career, which went on until 1998. “

You can read the interview in full here.

Originally published in the About Film Blog.