7 actors to watch out for on the Mumbai stage

Every once in a while, at the theatres, you watch an actor bring alive a character with sheer craft and conviction. They take you to a time and world away from your own, leaving you with an experience that could last a lifetime.

These actors with their impactful work, aren’t always centre stage or in lead roles but find a way to connect with you. Here are some from the Mumbai stage, and in some cases the screen, in no particular order, who reaffirm the joy of theatre, one show at a time:

Girish Sharma

Girish Sharma in Golden Jubilee.

To say that Girish Sharma enjoys himself on stage would be a bit of an understatement. He is energetic, has great comic timing, and is the kind of presence that will leave an indelible mark on you.

In D for Drama’s Golden Jubilee, he channels a ’70s hero with incredible poise and a sense of ease. He is the quintessential ‘ameer baap ka bigda beta’ (rich dad’s spoilt brat) and dances and serenades his way to the heroine’s heart. In Baaghi Albele, Atul Kumar’s new Punjabi play, he is the starstruck lover boy who makes his way through the audience to meet the object of his affection at the turn of every Hamlet monologue.

Sharma embodies characters like a second skin and his body and expressions are effective devices in the act.

It’s difficult to tell that Sharma took to theatre after he had tried his hand at a few other professions, including that of a producer at NDTV. He doubled up as a puppeteer on their show Gustakhi Maaf, and made his first showreel using the footage from the channel’s prank show Chhupa Rustam, where he acted a few times.

His first brush with professional theatre was when he was chosen for the Delhi cast of director Atul Kumar’s runaway hit Piya Behrupiya. It wasn’t long before the allure of acting took over him. He quit his full-time job to move to Mumbai with a list of directors he wanted to work with. The check-list is nearly complete.

Sharma is part of seven running plays on the Mumbai stage, including Golden Jubilee, Baaghi Albele, Irani Café and Guldasta by Theatre Unit, Catch 22 by tpot Productions, and more. Siachen, written by Aditya Rawal and directed by Makarand Deshpande is his upcoming production.

Sharma also makes frequent screen appearances, most often as news reporter or anchor. Some of them include Hansal Mehta’s latest Scoop and the Ayushmann Khurana starrer An Action Hero.

Sharma believes that he still has a long way to go in both films and theatre. “But it’s theatre that will take me there. Theatre leads to everything else,” he says.

Ghanshyam Lalsa

Ghanshyam Lalsa. (Photo: Padmaja)

When Ghanshyam Lalsa plays a vulnerable little boy who idolises a senior in school, copying his style and every action, in his solo piece Patna Ka Superhero, your heart goes out to him. Then, you watch him quickly transform into the older student, cool, brazen, and prone to bullying.
Throughout the piece, Lalsa plays many characters embodying their bodily characteristics and accents with expertise albeit with a light touch. The dialect and drama are all contained in a neighbourhood in small-town Bihar and Lalsa is at home with it. The piece holds your attention despite being restricted to a small part of the Prithvi Theatre stage.

Born to a millworker in Mumbai, Lalsa began professional theatre at the early age of 17 when he heard about a theatre workshop. It was by Atul Kumar and it led to the launch of a long and eventful career in theatre. He appeared in productions like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and proceeded to try his hand at Hindi theatre. Among his popular works is Dhumrapaan, a play directed by Akarsh Khurana (of Karwaan and Mismatched fame).

He formed D for Drama with fellow theatre makers Kumud Mishra and Saurabh Nayyar in 2012. He also directed a children’s play Transfer Kid that played at the Prithvi Summer Festival this year. He is currently touring with Manav Kaul’s new absurdist play Tumhaare Baare Mein.

Lalsa has worked in films too and recently appeared in the Yami Gautam starrer Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga.

There are actors and there are those who you will remember for the vulnerable, sometimes flawed, characters they play. Lalsa is among the latter, an actor who lets a character shine in all his works.

Janhvi Marathe

Janhvi Marathe.

She’s new on the professional theatre stage but has already made a mark with big-ticket productions like Atul Kumar’s Aaeen and Rehaan Engineer’s recent star-studded Don Juan Comes Back From The War.

Marathe was born and raised in Pune and wanted to first be a singer taking after her grandfather. College theatre happened and before she knew it, she was pursuing a graduation in performing arts from the Lalit Kala Akademi.
It’s no surprise then that two of Marathe’s three recent productions have been musicals; Aaeen and Amitosh Nagpal’s Mahanagar Ke Jugnu. She is also currently working on a solo musical and training with Bengaluru-based musician Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy.

Marathe makes her presence felt on stage, even when the lines are a few and the parts small. In her opening scene in Don Juan Comes Back From The War, she holds her own and delivers a crackling performance.

In Aaeen, she forms an intrinsic part of an ensemble cast but has an energy that is infectious and makes you sit up and take notice. She isn’t understated and truly made for grand things one can tell.

Marathe also appeared in a small Hindi feature titled Pinch and is awaiting the release of her Marathi film Toh Ti Ani Fuji.

Hrishabh Kanti

Hrishabh Kanti as Ramu Kaka.

There are actors who come with pomp and show, and leave you remembering their lines long after. Then there are those who quietly cement their positions in the theatre circuit. Hrishabh Kanti belongs to the second category and is silently doing his time in theatre.

Hailing from small-town Bihar, it was during college in Manipal that Kanti first saw the traditional dance theatre form, Yakshagana. He was mesmerised and one thing led to another. He then spent most of his college years performing with Udupi-based group BeTaal.

He is a Drama School Mumbai (DSM) alumnus and moved to Mumbai as a Thespo (a youth theatre festival) fellow first. “During that time, I got acquainted with Mumbai’s theatre scene and watched nearly 70 plays,” he says.

He recently received an award at the Sudarshan Annual Theatre Competition 2023 for his work in Gerish Khemani’s (director and DSM instructor) Anandowari.

Besides Kanti’s dedication to the craft, it’s his versatility that one notices immediately, sometimes in characters within a single play. In Saurabh Nayyar’s Golden Jubilee, he goes from playing a caricature of the ageing domestic worker in ’70s cinema, Ramu Kaka, to a strapping young lad breaking into song. With him, you associate the much-talked-about rigour of performance, with shows running every evening sometimes.

In Vikram Kapadia’s The Greatest Show on Earth, his is a performance to watch out for within an ensemble cast. Kanti’s roles almost always lend themselves to physical theatre and he doesn’t let the opportunity, to display his strength with movement, go.

He is currently performing Manav Kaul’s new play Tumhaare Baare Mein.

Puneet Kumar Mishra

Puneet Kumar Mishra.

Born and raised in Varanasi, Puneet Kumar Mishra’s childhood has been all about theatre. His father holds a doctorate in the discipline and his acting career began in the Ramleela pandals of the holy city.

He later trained under Kolkata-based director Manish Mitra and at one point shuttled between Kolkata and Chandigarh to act in both Bengali and Punjabi plays. He also trained at the Madhya Pradesh School of Drama followed by the National School of Drama.

In a short span, Puneet Mishra has made his mark on the Mumbai stage. His measured storytelling and powerful vocals in the META-winning play Hunkaro are hard to forget as is his portrayal of a politician in Atul Kumar’s political satire Aaeen. He also plays the able narrator in Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry’s Hayavadana. Mishra straddles the comedic and dramatic with ease and produces memorable moments on stage.

In Des, written by noted playwright Abhishek Majumdar and directed by Rasika Agashe, Mishra enraptures you with the already powerful dialogue and poetry, wanting little more than his presence on stage.

Bhagyashree Tarke

Bhagyashree Tarke.

In a recent performance of the solo piece Salma Deewani, written, directed, and performed by Bhagyashree Tarke, she had a house hooting and cheering for her. Nearly everyone in the audience felt a bond and deep empathy for her ably crafted character, Salma. That is the work of a great piece, both in writing and performance.

Like her character Salma, Bhagyashree Tarke grew up in Hyderabad but became a journalist before changing tracks and joining NSD. She tells us that the narrative and the relational dynamics that come with playing each character are what attract her to acting most.

A common thread in the handful of plays she has done, including Aaeen and Salma Deewani is a seemingly deliberate interactive quality. A space somewhere in between theatre and stand-up comedy, she calls it.

In Aaeen, she is a female Muslim stand-up comic on trial who delivers a courtroom set with the ease of a seasoned comedian. As Salma Deewani, she is a simple Hyderabadi woman who seeks refuge from the mundane in her love for Salman Khan. There’s grace and honesty in Tarke’s work and once you do watch her on stage, you’ll want to keep coming back for more.

Prerana

Prerana.

The relative newbie on this list, Prerana is already on the path to a memorable career filled with great performances. She makes a living off theatre as an actor, light designer, composer, and occasionally production manager.

After trying out theatre in school and at the Hindu College’s popular dramatic society, Prerana went on to train at DSM. Some of her work includes Patchwork Ensemble’s production Shikaar, where she was cast as an understudy and Afsana Theatre’s Janpad Bijnor.

In Janpad Bijnor, a collection of stories by noted writer Asif Hussain, she shines with her craft and voice. In a story titled Fakko Ka Murga, Prerana plays a rooster, committing to its every action right down to the call that will make you jump in your seat.

In Strictly Unconventional, she’s a discreet member of the ensemble. Prerana may have just a few acting credits to her name but if you’ve experienced the joy that she brings to the stage, you know that she’s only just begun.