RangManch

Juhi Babbar Soni started her Theatre journey in 1998. Like everybody else, to formally enter  Ekjute Theatre Group she too had to attend Ekjute’s annual theatre workshop and begin with backstage work.   As she came from a FASHION AND COSTUME background(NIFT Mumbai) she started by designing costumes. Her first play as a costume designer was DIL HI TOH HAI.  She then did he...

Yuki Ellias is a performer, teacher, and corporate coach. She trained at the Jacques Lecoq International School of Theatre in Paris and is a trained pedagogue from the London International School of Performing Arts. As a corporate trainer, Yuki specializes in bringing 20 years of experience and knowledge from the stage and the art of performance to organizations.  As an actress, she has perfo...

Aakash, a Drama School Mumbai alumni, has performed over 100 shows of the plays directed by him under his company Here and Now Entertainment since 2015. In theatre, he has worked with theatre legendaries like Atul Kumar, Jeff Baron, and Sunil Shanbag. He has also acted in the exemplary play by Jeff Baron called Visiting Mr. Green with co-actor M.K Raina. Aakash recently made his directing and acti...

Heeba Shah got acquainted with theatre as a school-going girl. Whenever opportunity availed, Heeba was more than happy to assist backstage with Motley Group- her father Naseeruddin Shah's company.  A little older, she trained under Pandit Satyajit Dubey.  She is not just a graduate from National School of Drama, but also Centre of Movement Arts. Besides a long list of impressive plays, H...

Salim Arif is an illustrious alumnus of the National School of Drama, New Delhi. A very well-known name in the field of Indian Theatre and Films, he is currently the Head of Department of Cultural Studies in Whistling Woods International, Mumbai, Asia’s leading Film School. He was also the Creative Director for Mariam Khan Reporting Live, a popular show on Star Plus Channel recently. Theatre...

Legendary actress Dina Pathak is best remembered for her memorable characters on screen be it Khoobsoorat or Golmaal but those who have watched her on stage, say she was mesmerising in Mena Gurjari, Mithyabhiman, Jasma Odhan, and many more! Her plays reflected a changing India, and she excelled as an actor, a director, a dancer, activist, and also a nationalist. She was an inspiration for a genera...

Vivaan Shah published his first novel Living Hell in 2019 and a horror short story for the Hindu Businessline titled Entombed, and one for HT Brunch called The Reptile Kind. He has acted in movies and shows with literary source material ranging from 7 Khoon Maaf and Bombay Velvet to A Suitable Boy. He has been acting and participating in the theatre since he was a child, and has adapted the works...

Ananth Mahadevan is a National Film award-winning media personality in films, television, theatre, advertising since 1980. He has acted in over 36 theatre productions with over 3000 performances in India and abroad! He has been seen and loved in multiple films, and series, however, the theatre is where his heart is. Listen to him share his journey on Rangmanch with Bhawana Somaaya.   You can...

Gajraj Rao is is a multimedia actor visible on all platforms and ad filmmaker who began his acting journey with theatre in 1988. He is one of the founding members of the renowned theatre group Act One in Delhi. Having worked with theatre stalwarts like Ranjit Kapoor, and B.V. Karanth, he has also been active with children's theatre through the Khilona Theatre Group and has conducted several worksh...

Akarsh Khurana is an Indian director, writer, and actor, son of actor Akash Khurana, who is critically acclaimed for writing and directing various shows. His notable works are TVF Tripling (as a writer), Yeh Meri Family (actor), Mismatched (as a director), and Krrish (as a supporting screenplay writer) His latest teleplay "The Job" is an English play starring Karan Pandit, Kashin Shetty, Tariq Vas...

Artist, Actor, Producer, Director, and an Entrepreneur, Shreyas Talpade is popularly recognized as an Indian actor, who appears in Marathi and Hindi films. He, however, began his journey as a theatre artist, where he gathered immense love, art and confidence to venture into mainstream entertainment. Since the start of his career, he has donned many successful hats of being an Artist, an Actor, a D...

Meenal Patel is quite literally the empress of Gujarati Theatre. Her fans squeal in delight everytime she is on the stage, and writers and directors are promoted to a new pedestal when she affirms to be in their productions. From rangmanch to television & now the digital Media, Patel has over the decades have adjusted and excelled on all the platforms.  Listen to her not just share her li...

Preeta Mathur Thakur has been working on the Hindi Theatre Stage for the last 30 years. With about 4000 shows of more than 50 plays behind her, Preeta has a large and varied experience to draw from. Preeta began her career in professional Theatre with The Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA)  under the influence of and inspiration from veterans like A K Hangal, M S Sathyu, Javed S...

Bhamini Oza has explored a broad spectrum of the entertainment industry. Her experience by far has been the epitome of versatility. Being an active part of the theatre world for over 2 decades her plays including “The waiting rooms”, “Ek chokri saav anokhi”, “Chaa chok Chovis”,7*3=21, and “Sir Sir Sarla” was applauded by the audience and received imm...

On Rangmanch, Annup Sonii joins Bhawana Somaaya to share his journey from Rajasthan to the prestigious National School Of Drama to one of the most popular crime series - Crime Patrol.  He also talks about his learnings & experiences from the various mediums- Theatre, Television, Films, and now web series. Listen to his illustrious journey on this episode of Rangmanch with Bhawana Somaaya...

Ramesh Talwar is an Indian film, theatre, television and film director, co-producer and actor. Talwar began his career as a child artist in Love In Simla, Dhool Ka Phool & Phool aur Kaliyan which was a National Award winner – Gold medal for best children's film. Besides his dedication towards films, Talwar has been an Ardent Theatre personality as well. His association with theatre...

Seema Pahwa rose to prominence for her role of Badki in the popular Doordarshan soap opera Hum Log (1984-1985). As a theatre actor she worked with Delhi-based theatre group Sambhav, before moving to Mumbai in 1994 to work in films and continue her work in television and theatre. Subsequently, she played Maasi, on Kasamh Se (2006-2009), a popular Zee TV soap opera by Ekta Kapoor. The character is v...

Shernaz Patel has been part of English theatre in India for the past 35 years. Over these years she has played leading roles in many milestone plays, the most recent include The Mirror Crack’d, Iron, The Siddhus of Upper Juhu, Love Letters, The Glass Menagerie, The God of Carnage, One On One and Class of '84. She is a partner in one of Mumbai’s leading theatre groups, Rage and...

Atul Tiwari is an award-winning script-writer, theatre director and museum maker with experience of about 35 years. In this episode, he talks about his productions, having a repertoire of more than 30 productions in different languages consisting of Western playwrights like Shakespeare, Schiller, Shaw, Goethe, Brecht and Dario Fo. He also talks about interesting concepts like Chaupal and also why...

Feroz Abbas Khan is a film & theatre writer and director, years ago when Prithvi Theatre was launched in Mumbai. Mr. Khan was the first artistic & festival director appointed at Prithvi. He has directed some of the most extraordinary and path-breaking plays on stage like Tumhari Amrita, Saalgira, Mahatma V/S Gandhi, Salesman Ramlal, Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, and more. His productions have got...

Makarand Deshpande is an Indian stage and film actor, writer, and director. Well known and much loved for his unique voice in his plays, Makarand has acted in, written, and directed fifty full length plays. His theatre group, "Ansh" has produced more original plays than any other theatre group in the country His noteworthy acting has been lauded in films across languages and the audiences have see...

Ratna Pathak Shah has been active in professional theatre for almost 40 years. Some of her significant plays include The Lesson, Silence Court In Session, Don Juan In Hell, and more. She is one of the founding members of the Motley Group, and her remarkable plays include, Dear Liar, Ismat Apa Ke Naam, Arms And The Man, Antigone, & many more. She has been actively involved in training students...

Neena Gupta is a two time National Award-winning actor, filmmaker, producer, and television personality. She has an MA in Sanskrit from Delhi University and a gold medal winner in theatre from the National School of Drama (NSD). She started her career in Delhi’s booming theatre scene in the 80s but decided to switch to film and television after acting in the 1982 Academy award-winning Gandhi...

Cinegoers remember Satish Kaushik as the actor who made them laugh. His college friends remember him as a performer who grabbed the spotlight. When he assisted directors, they loved his company and respected his efficiency. When he turned filmmaker himself, his actors loved his company and submitted to his vision. An actor, a theatre lover, a filmmaker, an activist, and a radio jockey, Satish Kaus...

Ila Arun shares her experiences of how she got introduced to theatre, her learnings from the stalwarts of the Rangmanch. She is the organizer of the ‘Ibsen Theatre Festival’ with the Norwegian Embassy for the last four years as Festival Director/Actor. Adapted & produced Ibsen’s plays ‘Lady from the Sea’, ‘Peer Gynt’ & ‘Ghosts’ in Hindi...