Theatre actors we would love to see more often in Hindi cinema

Theatre has always been a deeply revered medium owing to the immense talent associated with it. And luckily for us, the theatre scene in India has seen an exponential growth in recent times. While the credit of this is not limited to any one person, several young and talented actors like Kalki Koechlin, Abhishek Majumdar, Faezeh Jalali and many others are instrumental in taking theatre to great heights.

Hindi cinema has been blessed with several renowned actors who hail from a theatre background from veterans like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri to Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpai et all. While these actors have established their niche, there are several young sparks from the world of theatre who are now making a mark in Hindi cinema as well.

We look at some of the shining stars from the theatre world who we would love to see more of in Bollywood.

Imaad Shah

Imaad Shah

Son of theatre legend Naseeruddin Shah, Imaad Shah started theatre at the age of 19. Imaad has been a part of several noted theatrical productions like ‘Waiting for Godot’, ‘By George’ and ‘Manto Ismat Haazir hain.’ The actor made his film debut with Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota and was seen in films like The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Dil Dosti Etc, Dhobi Ghat, amongst others. The actor who is known for his unique choice of films was recently seen in M Cream – an unconventional film, which garnered a lot of positive response for the actor. With his diverse acting skills, one would definitely want to see more of him on the big screen.

Saba Azad

Saba Azad

Saba Azad has grown on and around the stage as her family has been and continues to be actively associated with theatre as well as other performing arts. She performed with the Jana Natya Manch as a child and has seen been part of plays, short films, commercials and more. The actress who is also a musician was seen in Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge by Y Films. She has also dabbled with the Internet space with the web series ‘Ladies Room’ and the 6-part web film called ‘Love Shots’ also by Y Films. With her performance been appreciated across mediums, she is a promising actor who should be seen in more films.

Rasika Dugal

Rasika Dugal

An alumni of FTII, Rasika Dugal has been part of ‘Kissa Yoni Ka’ (the Hindi adaptation of The Vagina Monologues) ever since it started around eight years ago. The talented actor has also been part of path-breaking films such as Kshay and Qissa. Anyone who has seen Dugal’s acting skills would vouch for her talent. It is thus no surprise that the actor will soon be seen in the upcoming film Manto and will also be shooting for an Indo-German film Once Again with Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi.

Faezeh Jalali

Faezeh Jalali

Faezeh Jaleli entered the world of theatre with a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee. As an actor, Jaleli has been part of noted plays like ‘The Trestle and Pope Lick Creek,’ ‘Norway Today’, Tim Supples’s ‘Mid Summer Night’s Dream‘ and others. She has also directed several plays with her most recent one, 07/07/07, winning the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) for Best Ensemble. The director cum actor has played small but impressive roles in films like Qissa and Kurbaan and also shared screen space with Anil Kapoor in the Indian adaptation of ’24’. With such a vast body of talent, one can only hope that she bags more such roles and films.

Shriya Pilgaonkar

Shriya Pilgaonkar

Acting runs in her blood. The daughter of Sachin Pilgaonkar and Supriya Pilgaonkar made her foray into acting with the Marathi movie Ekulti Ek and  was also part of the play ‘Freedom To Love‘. The actor who has been part of plays since her childhood was recently seen in Fan opposite Shahrukh Khan. While the role may have been small, it did not go unnoticed. While her recent play ‘Internal Affairs’ got her good reviews, we would love to see her exploring more of Hindi cinema as well.

Tigmanshu Dhulia

Tigmanshu Dhulia

Known for his iconic role in Gangs of Wasseypur, Tigmanshu Dhulia is an acclaimed writer and director. While his directorial ventures need no introduction, it is the lesser known acting prowess of this powerhouse performer that  draws our attention. The National School of Drama alumnus has also been part of movies like Manjhi – The Mountain Man, Shahid and Hero. We can’t get enough of his acting and hope to see more of his versatility in front of the camera too!

Satchit Puranik

Satchit Puranik

Satchit is a theatre and film artist and has creatively established himself in epic proportions. He studied editing and direction at FTII, Pune and has edited the award-winning Ship of Theseus in 2013. He has been part of not just Hindi but also English and Gujarati theatre. His acting stints include films like ‘The President is Coming’, ‘Mr Ya Miss’, and ‘Fowl Men’. The multi-faceted Puranik was also the Casting Director for Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court. It would be interesting to see more of his films in the near future.

Shilpa Shukla

Shilpa Shukla

She rocked the big screen in Chak De! India and went on to win a Filmfare for B.A pass. She started theatre with the theatre artist MK Raina and went on to do plays like ‘Final Solutions’ by Mahesh Dattani, ‘Antim Diwas’ by Govind Deshpande, Neil Simon’s ‘Log Baag’ and many more. With beauty and her unabashed approach, Shilpa is one of the finest actors that theatre has given us and we’d definitely want to see her experimenting with films too.

Abhishek Majumdar

Abhishek Majumdar

The founder of Indian Ensemble, a theatre group based in Bangalore, Majumdar is a highly talented writer, director and actor. He won the Shankar Nag theatre award and his company has taken the theatre world by storm. Some of his famous works include ‘Gasha’, ‘Djinns of Eidgah’ and ‘Treadmill’. He will surely be an asset to an film that he is part of.

Seema Azmi

Remember Rani Dispotta from Chak de! India? She was the talented Seema Azmi, a National School of Drama graduate. Azmi has worked with eminent theatre personalities like Mahesh Dattani, Lillete Dubey and Girish Karnad. She takes acting classes and also has her own theatre group called ‘Shila Shringar’. While Azmi has acted in some remarkable plays such as ‘Ek Mamooli Aadmi’, ‘Wedding Album’ and ‘Accidental death of an anarchist’, she has also been part of films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Marathi film Chitrafit 3.0 Megapixel. How we’d love to see more of this talent in Hindi cinema!

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