“Every actor must do theatre atleast once in their life because theatre teaches you a lot of lessons.”
It’s a great feeling to perform on stage. You are always terrified and excited before you step on the stage. That feeling is just so explicable. Being in front of the camera you know that there are chances of you taking retakes but being on stage you are sure that there won’t be any takes, it will be once and for all.
But once you perform on stage then there is no other feeling that can replace it. But theatres are not that popular in India even though that’s where the art of film production started. Even though theatre is not very popular in India there are a few stars who came to films via performing on stage. Maybe that’s why they are so refined and are actors plus artists.
Take a look at who are these actors.
1. Om Puri
Om Puri was one of the most natural actors in Bollywood. He started off his acting career with a theatre group in Punjab called Punjab Kala Manch. He then came to Mumbai where he again started doing theatres from where he was actually picked for films.
2. Pankaj Kapoor
Pankaj Kapoor is one of the stars who came from National School of Drama. He and his wife both love theatres and he still does stage plays. He had done almost 74 plays over the course of his career.
3. Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi has barely sat at home ever since she has started off in the industry. But even with all the amazing movies that she has been doing, she is still connected to theatres and still does stage performance.
4. Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad is well-known for his role in ‘Ek Tha Tiger‘. But that’s not all he also loves to write plays. His plays have been translated into many Indian languages. He was even rewarded with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan for his contribution.
5. Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah was a mere theatre artist in Mumbai when he was suddenly picked up for a film. That’s where he got his big break from. In 1977, he, Tom Alter, and Benjamin Gilani formed a theatre group and named it Motley. He has brought up some of the best plays on stage through Motley.
6. Seema Biswas
Seema Biswas rose to fame from her strong role in ‘Bandit Queen‘. She has been also doing theatres even before she made her Bollywood debut. She likes to experiment with her characters and she doesn’t like to typecast.
7. Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher is another one of the most natural actors in Bollywood. But he is not just an actor he is also a theatre artist and a writer. He has a written and acted in a play named ‘Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai‘. This play is based on his own life. He is also the chairman of Film and Television Institute and he has also worked as the chairman of Film Censor Board.
8. Deepak Dobriyal
Dobriyal is well-known for his roles in ‘Tanu Weds Manu‘ series and ‘Gulaal‘. He started off his career as a theatre artist and then he also worked with a theatre director named Arvind Gaur.
9. Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal is known for his amazing comic timing and experimental characters. He has been a regular member of Prithvi Theatres. He is currently the Lok Sabha member.
10. Nimrat Kaur
Nimrat Kaur started off as a print model then she started doing theatres. She loves the stage and is also working in both theatres as well as films.
11. Radhika Apte
Radhika Apte is also a theatre actor. She used to perform in Marathi plays before she entered in Bollywood. She mostly prefers experimental theatres.
12. Ratna Pathak Shah
Ratna Pathak a.k.a Mrs. Sarabhai has been performing in theatres for a long time now. She has been a part of Hindi and English plays and has also performed in some of the Russians plays.
13. Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav has worked in a number of films and is mostly seen doing comic roles. He is one of the alumni of National School of Drama. The actor is currently working with Shahjahanpur theatres.
14. Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan is a big name in the industry. Everyone knows that he was once a part of National School of Drama but not many of them know that he was also the part of Delhi’s Theatre Action Group where he learned a lot of things from Barry John.
15. Kalki Koechlin
Kalki is a French actress and she has been drawn to theatres at a very young age. She has learned drama from Goldsmith, University of London.
16. Irrfan Khan
Why do we love Irrfan Khan on screen? That’s because his acting style is unique. That’s what made him so popular in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He worked hard for it. He studied in NSD and then he moved to Mumbai where he worked for several TV shows and films before finally getting the ultimate recognition.
17. Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Nawazuddin Siddiqui doesn’t need an introduction anymore. He has been in the industry for quite a long time but he got recognition after ‘Gangs of Wasseypur 2‘. After that, he became the big name in the industry. He graduated from NSD and then he started working with Sakshi Theatre Group alongside Manoj Bajpai and Saurabh Shukla. It is said that he struggled for 12 long years in the industry before giving his hit performance.
18. Piyush Mishra
Piyush Mishra is the new emerging talents of Bollywood the only difference is that he is not young. He graduated from NSD in the year 1986 and then worked in theatres for the next few decades. He is an established director, singer, writer, lyricist, and composer. Some of the famous plays written by him are ‘Gagan Damama Bajiyo‘, ‘Jab Shehar Hamara Sota Hai‘ and ‘Laila-Majnu‘. Laila Majnu is the same poem that is filmed as a song in ‘Aaja Nachle‘ movie.
19. Saurabh Shukla
Saurabh Shukla has been one of the mainstream actors in Bollywood now. But he has been acting even before that. He has been doing theatres way before entering in the industry. And even after doing so many films he still does stage plays all around the world
20. Boman Irani
Boman Irani is known for his versatility. He effortlessly fits in any and all of the roles. That’s because he has a solid theatre experience of almost 17 years. He was trained under Hanraj Sindhia from 1981-1983.
21. Manoj Bajpai
Manoj Bajpai has always wanted to be an actor. He was not very fond of films, infact he loved to be on stage. But luck brought him to Bollywood. He was rejected by NSD but he worked with Barry John and formed a theatre group Act One with NK Sharma.
22. Tigmanshu Dhulia
Tigmanshu Dhulia has a masters degree in theatres from NSD. He has been a director from theatres. He mostly remains behind the camera but he is one of the finest actors and directors in the industry.
23. Rajkummar Rao
Rajkummar Rao is everywhere nowadays. He is on the top of his career right now and is working in some of the best projects. While he was at Delhi University he also worked in theatres with Kshitij Repertory and Shri Ram Centre.
24. Sanjay Mishra
Sanjay Mishra is also an NSD graduate. He has been working in theatres as well as movies ever since he has started acting. He is known for his comic roles in general but he has also played some intense roles which every movie buff would love.
25. Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose acts like a pro and he has been in the field of the acting way before he entered in films. He has been doing stage plays for a quite a long time now. He is one of those young actors who is still involved in theatres.
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