I took to the stage at an early age doing plays and theater workshops in school under the guidance of Mrs. Joy Michael, a theater veteran. I moved to Kolkata in 1981, and at the university I became  involved in designing lights and sets, as my Bengali then, was not up to scratch. In 1984, I joined the English theater group ‘Stagecraft’ and stepped on to the Kolkata stage with my portrayal of Karen Andre in Ayn Rand’s play “The Night of January 16^th”.

Seeing my work on the English stage, the legendary actor and director Shyamanand Jalan invited me to join his group PADATIK and thus began my journey in Hindi Language Theater. For one thing, I got to work with a plethora of directors, both from India and abroad and thus got involved in various genres of theater. From the hard hitting reality of Directors like Shyamanand Jalan, Satyadev Dubey and Rodney Marriot, to the surrealism of Anmol Vellani , the amazing raw power of Staniewski , the cutting edge work of the present resident directors Vinay Sharma and Mahmud Alam, and the freshness of the ensemble acting process of John Britton, among others –has been a roller coaster journey of shows in both India and abroad.

Today PADATIK has a beautiful boutique auditorium of its own which seats up to 60 people. It is fitted with professional light grids and sound system and a dedicated crew for technical support. We also present shows of other theater groups, both from both India and abroad in this performance space to encourage new artists and directors as well as veterans. The PADATIK LITTLE THEATRE, as it is affectionately called, has become a buzzing center for Hindi, English and Bengali theater with shows slated for almost every weekend.  Theater workshops are conducted in this space both for training new actors and also for specific productions. Being on the executive board of PADATIK since the last three years has been an honor for me, and the chance to carry on the legacy of our founder Shayamanand Jalan.

Some of the plays I have acted in (here’s a few I have picked from the 70 or so that I have done) are Pratibimb, written by Mahesh Elkunchwar and directed by Satyadev Dubey, Raja Lear – an adaptation of Shakespeare and directed by Fritz Bennewitz,  Baarishwala - by Richard Nash  and directed by Rodney Marriot,  Ek Anarchist ki iteefaqia maut - by Dario Fo and  directed by Vinay Sharma; Rudali- by Mahashweta Devi, directed by Usha Ganguli,  Atmakatha – by Mahesh Elkunchwar and directed by Vinay Sharma.

I took to the stage at an early age doing plays and theater workshops in school under the guidance of Mrs. Joy Michael, a theater veteran. I moved to Kolkata in 1981, and at the university I became  involved in designing lights and sets, as my Bengali then, was not up to scratch. In 1984, I joined the English theate