India, March 27 -- Actor Pratik Gandhi is garnering critical acclaim for his acting chops on screen yet he calls theatre his original love and "an acting gym for an actor". "Whatever I've got till now is due to theatre," says Gandhi, adding that although "it is considered a poor-paying medium" compared to films and OTT, "it gives one's soul much-needed energy, experience and satisfaction". However, the 45-year-old admits the economics remain challenging."In theatre, my efforts are like 100 times more than in films, and the payment is not even one-tenth of that," he says. But the Scam 1992 actor is hopeful that this might change o with the right kind of changes. "Concerts and stand-up shows are going house full now. People want that personal connect. Today, they will pay five times more than for any virtual experience," he says. And adds that another practical step could be taking cues from the theatre scene in the West. He contrasts this with the West, "where play tickets are significantly priced higher ($85 or around Rs.8,000) than film tickets ($15 or around Rs.1,400), and productions run for months at a single venue." One more significant step could be increasing the number of shows. "The problem is also with the capacity of a show, which is perhaps 500 to 800 people per show. So multiple shows have to be performed to reach out to larger audiences," says Gandhi....