Theatre will always remain the first love for these actors...

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Theatre is a verb before it is a noun, an act before it is a place.
—Martha Graham, dancer

Many successful names in Bollywood started their acting career as theatre artiste. As we celebrate World Theatre Day today, we list a few actors who are still actively associated with the stage.

The ‘white’ guy

Jim Sarbh acted in plays before he turned to movies. After playing supporting roles in films like Padmavat and Neerja, he played the lead in Rocket Boys. He received critical appreciation for his performance in Death of a Salesman and Rajat Kumar’s stage production, MacBeth. In his theatre days, he was typecast as a white guy, but he was not bothered by it. “I was hungry and I was being fed,” he said. He has his own production house and has directed plays like Mike Barlett’s Bull and Michael Frayn’s Noises Off.

Theatre is life

Shabana Azmi has performed in plays like Safed Kundali and Tumhari Amrita. The five-time national award winner had once said, “I was a foetus in my mother’s womb when she would travel to Prithvi Theatre. Theatre is in my bloodstream.” Her most recent work was a play titled Broken Images, written by Girish Karnad and directed by Alyque Padamsee.

Food for thought

Bollywood’s Badshah Shah Rukh Khan also started his journey from the stage. Though not a part of the National School of Drama, SRK had close association with many NSD graduates, thanks to his father who used to run the NSD canteen. He credits his NSD friends for igniting his interest in acting.

One of his notable stage performances was when he played the role of an Italian lover in Delhi’s Action Theatre Group production, titled Rough Crossing.

Made for the stage

Piyush Mishra is an actor, music director, singer, script and dialogue writer and theatre actor. He was in his second year of graduation when he acted in the play, Hamlet. After graduation from the NSD in 1986, he started his career as a theatre actor and went on to write and direct several plays as a part of Act-1 Group (1990-1995). In 1996 he joined Asmita Theatre Group. He credits his theatre years for discovering the singer and lyricist in him.

From the fringe

Kalki Koechlin, known for her critically acclaimed roles in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Margarita with a Straw, also has her roots in theatre. She has her own theatre company, called Little Productions. She has directed a play, The Living Room, featuring artistes like Sheeba Chaddha, Neil Bhoopalam and Jim Sarabh. She believes theatre will always exist but on the fringes.

Life’s lessons

Manoj Bajpayee credits theatre for preparing him not only as an actor but also a human being. His rejection from the National School of Drama did not stop him from making a name in the theatre circle and Bollywood.

Challenge accepted

Gangs of Wasseypur actor Pankaj Tripathi is also an alumnus of the NSD. He started performing on stage in Patna. He once said, “Theatre mein chunauti aur maza, dono zyada hai.” He is still in touch with his gurus —Anuradha Kapoor, Devendra Raj Ankur and Prasanna.

Couple of plays

Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah have also shared the stage during their times at NSD. Naseeruddin started Motley Theatre Group with Benjamin Gilani and has acted, directed as well as produced 42 plays in 40 years.

In happy space

Paresh Rawal feels that theatre is his first love and he is happiest on stage. He is known for playing the lead in plays such as Kishan Vs Kanhaiya. He was appointed as the chairperson of the National School of Drama in 2020.

Other Bollywood stars with a foundation in theatre include Boman Irani, Radhika Apte, Kangana Ranaut, Huma Qureshi, Anupam Kher, Rajkumar Rao and Neena Gupta.

‘Theatre is ever-evolving’

Geetanjali Kulkarni, who is known for her performance in several shows, including Gullak on SonyLIV, says says, “Theatre has disciplined and empowered me as an actor, helped me to have better control over my craft, and enriched me as a human being by sensitising me to diverse thoughts and multiple perspectives. I am a more open-minded and inclusive person today because of theatre. Theatre has also taught me that we cannot do everything on our own. Be it on stage or in life, we need kinship.”

(With inputs from Aanya Jatana)