On World Theatre Day, meet these stalwarts who have found success beyond the stage

Before Raghubir Yadav spent over 13 years at the National School of Drama as an actor, musician, and costume designer, he was part of a travelling Parsi theatre that he had joined at the age of 15 after running away from home. Here he was happy to earn just a few rupees in exchange for a rich creative life. After acting in 40 plays in over 2000 shows between 1977 and 1986, he has today evolved as a multifaceted artist, singer, music composer, set designer and a lot more. But he still looks back fondly at his years in the NSD repertory where he performed plays like 'Tughlak' and 'Andha Yug'. This connection with theatre continues till date and he can be seen in Zee Theatre’s popular teleplay, ‘Bagiya Bancharam Ki’. He is also remembered for 'Massey Sahib (1985) where he debuted opposite none other than Arundhati Roy. In 1989, he went on to immortalise the protagonist of the iconic Doordarshan comedy, 'Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne'.   Be it films like 'Lagaan', 'Salaam Bombay', 'Firaq', 'Dharavi', 'Bandit Queen', 'Peepli Live’ or the recent web series, 'Panchayat - 2', he has always stood out, thanks to his polished histrionics.
 

This theatre and film veteran has the ability to make every role, regardless of its size, memorable. She remembers her National School of Drama days fondly where she learnt everything from production work, lighting and acting and worked with legends like BV Karanth, M. K.Raina, Surekha Sikri and Uttara Baokar.  From realistic plays to stylized musicals, she was a part of a charmed creative universe. One of her most cherished experiences was to perform the role of Desdemona in 'Othello', in a small village before a rural audience that responded to the story with intuitive intelligence.  In the 80s, cameos in Shyam Bengal's Doordarshan serial 'Yatra' and in Lekh Tandon's 'Phir Wohi Talaash' led to a full-blown film career but she still makes time to work in Zee theatre's teleplays like 'Hamidabai Ki Kothi’ and ‘Rishton Ka Live Telecast.’  

When Piyush Mishra was a student at the National School of Drama, he did not know how multi-faceted his career was going to be. From a career-defining performance in and as 'Hamlet' on stage in the early 80s, he went on to work in TV shows like 'Firdaus' and 'Kabhi Door Kabhi Paas.'  Today he is not just celebrated as a poet, singer, lyricist, playwright, musician and screenwriter but has directed many plays, including for theatre group Act One. His one man show 'An Evening with Piyush Mishra', and his role in Swadesh Deepak's 'Court Martial' remain one of the many high-points of his theatrical career.  In films too, he makes every moment before the camera count, whether he is playing a corrupt music Moghul in 'Rockstar' or etching unforgettable characters in films like 'Dil Se', 'Matrubhoomi', 'Maqbool', 'Gulaal’, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur', 'Tamasha', 'Pink' and 'Sanju'.
 

The star alumnus of NSD and a protege of Pandit Satyadev Dubey, was a huge draw at Prithvi Theatre before he created a sensation on television with a breakout role in ‘Swabhimaan' (1995) and the big screen with Dushman (1998) and Sangharsh (1999). Rana believes that an actor should not be restricted to any medium and continues to work in the theatre till date and can be seen in Zee Theatre's teleplay 'Purush' in a chilling, negative role.  Be it TV shows like ‘Apradhi Kaun’ or memorable performances in theatre and cinema across industries like Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, he has never failed to impress. His latest triumph is of course the superhit Shah Rukh Khan starrer, ‘Pathaan’.
 

Born in Bihar's Belsand village, Pankaj’s first brush with acting was in amateur plays where he often played a girl. In PClass 12, the play 'Andha Kuan' kindled a passion for acting within and in the years to come he divided his time between a hotel kitchen and theatre. To be able to join the National School of Drama, he completed his graduation and then enrolled in NSD.

Today, he credits his success to the lessons he imbibed as a theatre actor.   After an uncredited role in Run (2004), and fleeting appearances in films like 'Omkara', 'Apaharan’, ‘Dharm', 'Mithya', 'Shaurya', 'Raavan' and 'Aakrosh', he hit the spotlight with a breakthrough part in Anurag Kashyap’s crime epic, ‘Gangs of Wasseypur' 1-2.  Whether he is playing genial patriarchs in films like 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl ‘Stree’ or 'Bareilly Ki Barfi ‘, stealing scenes in 'Newton' and 'Mimi' or dominating the OTT space with 'Mirzapur’ (1 and 2), ‘Sacred Games’, and 'Criminal Justice’ (all three series) , he is proving that success comes to those who don't stop dreaming.

Before he became the favourite of  today's independent film-makers  in films like 'Ankhon Dekhi', 'Masaan', 'Vadh' , 'Anaarkali of Aarah' , 'Kamyaab' and many more, Sanjay Mishra was a  National School of Drama  alumni. The discipline of doing theatre and preparing extensively to get into the skin of a character has held him in good stead in cinema too. For instance, to prepare for his role in 'Masaan', he lived away from the unit and considered a daily dip in the Ganga as his' make up'!   His fondness for rehearsals also comes from his theatrical background. First seen in a minor cameo in Ketan Mehta’s ‘Oh Darling Yeh Hai India' (1995), he went on to become a recognizable face on TV with ‘Office Office’ and also regaled audiences as Apple Singh, a ‘icon' used by ESPN Star Sports during the 1999 Cricket World Cup.  Today he is a creative force who is being offered lead roles in brave, independent films and is enjoying the respect he always deserved.