World Theatre Day: Bollywood Stars Recall Their First Stage Performances

Theatre has laid the foundation for many Bollywood actors, helping them hone their acting skills and make their mark on the big screen. On the occasion of World Theatre Day, which is celebrated every year on March 27, some famous Bollywood stars reminisced about their first theatre performances.

Richa Chadha

Richa Chadha fondly remembers her first professional theatre performance 'Aur Kitne Tukde', which she did in Class 11. The play was directed by Kirti Jain and featured veteran actors from NSD. "I was cast as an extra in it, which gave me a chance to watch and learn closely from the amazing actors from the National School of Drama (NSD). I had braces on my teeth at that time, and it was a period drama," Richa said with a smile.

Ali Fazal

Ali Fazal's theatre journey began with a play called 'A Guy Thing', written and directed by American playwright Michael Puzzo. But his first theatre performance was at boarding school in Dehradun, where filmmaker Sudhanshu Saria brought him on stage. "I remember  I was standing on steps amphitheater of The Doon School and being tasked with the all-important task of uttering this single line of dialogue – ‘You blithering nincompoop!’" Ali recalled with a smile." Ali laughs.

Pankaj Tripathi

Pankaj Tripathi's first play was 'Leela Nandlal Ki', based on a story by Bhisham Sahni and directed by Vijay Kumar (NSD alumnus). Performing for the first time in front of a Patna audience, he received a huge positive response, even though he had no formal training then. "The story revolves around a lost scooter, where the protagonist goes to the police station to lodge a complaint. I played both a cop and a thief in it," shares Pankaj.

Shweta Tripathi

Shweta Tripathi, who now runs her own theatre company, was drawn to theatre when she saw actor Yashpal Sharma perform in a play. “There was a scene on top of a train in that play, which made me fall in love with theatre. Apart from that, there was another play ‘Graffiti’, choreographed by Shiamak Davar and directed by Roshan Abbas, which I still miss,” Shweta says. Theatre also gave her the gift of a lifetime—her husband, rapper Chaitanya Sharma (Slow Cheeta), whom she met through theatre.

Abhishek Banerjee

Abhishek Banerjee started theatre during his school days, but the real learning came through the Players Society at Delhi’s Kirori Mal College (KMC)—which has also produced the likes of Kabir Khan, Siddharth and Divyendu. "I was confused about my future because of my low marks. Once, when I was hosting a programme, a teacher angrily said, 'This is all you can do.' Many people would have found it insulting, but I took it as a sign. I gave an acting audition and got admission at Kirori Mal College—the same college where Amitabh Bachchan studied," Abhishek recalled.

Akshay Oberoi

Akshay Oberoi's theatre journey began at Johns Hopkins University. He later trained at Stella Adler Studio (New York) and Playhouse West (Los Angeles). "Theatre taught me what good acting really means, no matter what the genre is. Theatre is what I am today. I will always be grateful for this opportunity," Akshay shared.

Parul Gulati

Parul Gulati started her acting career at a very young age, but she always had a deep love for theatre. She has acted in many plays and still trains under her mentor, Saurabh Sachdeva. Recently, she expressed her desire to produce a play, saying, "Theatre keeps me alive."

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