Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues

Last updated

Ivan Rodrigues
Ivan Rodrigues.jpg
Image of Ivan Rodrigues
Born
Ivan Rodrigues

(1968-11-23) 23 November 1968 (age 56)
NationalityIndian
OccupationActor
Years active2011 - present
SpouseAndrea Rodrigues
ChildrenJeremiah Rodrigues

Ivan Rodrigues is a film and theatre actor based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Contents

Early life and education

Ivan was born on 23 November 1968 in Mumbai to Robert and Nancy Rodrigues. His parents though were born and brought up in Mangalore, Karnataka, before they moved to Mumbai.

Ivan was involved in school and parish plays. He made his debut in professional theatre with the musical Godspell directed by Joel Furtado and staged by St. Michael's Parish, Mahim. He completed his SSC from St. Michael's High School, Mahim in 1984 standing second in his school.

He graduated in commerce from Sydenham College in 1989 and then did his MBA in Marketing from S.P. Jain in 1991.

After working for 19 years as a senior marketing professional in the corporate world, he quit his job in 2009 to follow his passion for acting full-time.

Career

In Theatre

It was in his final year in Sydenham College, where he won the awards for Best Play, Best Director and Best Actor for the play The Chairs written by Eugène Ionesco at the prestigious Dr. S. K. Muranjan intra-college competition in 1989. It was at this competition that Mr. Dandavate, who was the then Chairman of the NCPA, invited Ivan to stage The Chairs at the Little Theatre, NCPA. The play received rave reviews in the press at that time.

"A difficult play to tackle even for professionals, much more so for students, Ivan Rodrigues who also directs, did well to keep the pace brisk and the action taut. So convincing was their portrayal of old age that for a moment it was a jolt to see them smiling and straightbacked offstage". – Meher Pestonji, Sunday Mid-Day, 2 April 1989.

"Only a brave person would have anything to do with THE CHAIRS. Over two decades ago Vijaya Mehta presented it and now Ivan Rodrigues has brought it back. He chose the play because he found it difficult to understand at the first reading. Many rehearsals later he has put up a commendable effort. Both the actors retain the arthritic image from start to finish, drawing the viewer into the vortex of their grey life". – Teresa Viju James, The Indian Post, 29 March 1989.

" The Chairs is a play which extracts that bit of extra energy and talent from the actor. Its success depends a great deal on this aspect. In Ivan Rodrigues and Nilufer Charna, Bombay theatre has discovered two young talented actors with great potential. Both Ivan and Nilufer excelled, their voices and facial expressions picking up the cues from where the other had left, to give us phases of poetry in theatre. It only goes to prove that nothing can replace genuine talent". – Suma Josson, The Sunday Observer, 2 to 8 April 1989.

Since then Ivan has acted in several professional productions and has performed at venues all over India. Some of these include:

Ivan Rodrigues and Ramu Ramanathan during a rehearsal of 'Krapp's Last Tape' Ivan and Ramu.jpg
Ivan Rodrigues and Ramu Ramanathan during a rehearsal of 'Krapp's Last Tape'

The Fantasticks , a musical play (music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones) directed by Janak Toprani and Nandu Bhende, Krapp's Last Tape (Samuel Beckett) directed by Ramu Ramanathan, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Heinar Kipphardt) directed by Janak Toprani, The Public Eye (Peter Shaffer) directed by Janak Toprani, Final Solutions, written and directed by Mahesh Dattani, Animal Farm (George Orwell), a musical play directed by Arundhati Raja, Holy River (an Indo-British production), directed by Etienne Coutinho and The Big Fat city, [1] written and directed by Mahesh Dattani. He has also written AGP World's The Scent of a Man. [2] [3] [4]

He has also worked with young directors on experimental plays – like Raul Valmiki in The Date(d) and Megha Burman in Do You, I Do. [5]

Over the years, his acting has been much appreciated by audiences and critics alike. Some excerpts.

"Apart from the adaptation, the high point of the production is the sound effects, both on and off the stage. Offstage you hear a bottle corking, liquid poured, the clink of crockery and the wheezing of a man in a hurry to get his drink. Ivan Rodrigues makes an excellent elder Krapp with shuffling feet, sharp bark like cries and semi-silent chuckles, enslaved to the clanging alarm clock slung around his neck". Review of Krapp's Last Tape by Meher Pestonji in the Mid-Day dated 4 August 1989.

"The highlight of the evening was Ivan Rodrigues' remarkable performance as the old Krapp. Slow and deliberate, never letting his concentration slip, perfectly in character whether excited or vacant, he breathes life into the play". – Review of Krapp's Last Tape by Kamala Ramchandani in The Indian Post dated 22 November 1989.

"Krapp played by Ivan Rodrigues touches the heart. The director does not see him as a comical figure but a futuristic one; spools of tape hanging out of the innards of his tape deck, the floor strewn with debris, the lights low in this each-man-for-himself world. Rodrigues has all the decrepitude of Krapp, shuffling and enfeebled, body racked by paroxysms of pain brought on by recalling the past, yet not without an ability to laugh manically at himself". Review of Krapp's Last Tape by Nandini Bhaskaran in The Independent dated 17 November 1989.

In Films

Since 2013, he has acted in the following Bollywood films: [6] Satyagraha directed by Prakash Jha, Shamitabh directed by R. Balki, Dil Dhadakne Do directed by Zoya Akhtar, Bharat, Tiger Zinda Hai & Sultan directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Dear Zindagi directed by Gauri Shinde, Commando 2 directed by Deven Bhojani, MOM directed by Ravi Udyawar, Jagga Jasoos directed by Anurag Basu, Hichki directed by Sidharth P. Malhotra, Love Per Square Foot directed by Anand Tiwari, Bioscopewala directed by Deb Medhekar, Gold directed by Reema Kagti, URI:The Surgical Strike directed by Aditya Dhar, Noblemen directed by Vandana Kataria, Upstarts directed by Udai Singh Pawar, Mumbai Saga directed by Sanjay Gupta, Dial 100 directed by Rensil D'silva and Ek Villain Returns directed by Mohit Suri.

In Web Series

He has acted in the following TV and web series on Netflix, Amazon Prime, ITV, Alt Balaji, Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5 Premium, Sony Liv and YouTube: What The Folks S1 directed by Ruchir Arun, The Good Karma Hospital S2 directed by Alex Winckler, Official CEOgiri directed by Samar Sheikh, What's Your Status directed by Madhur Agarwal, The Final Call directed by Vijay Lalwani, Made in Heaven directed by Alankrita Srivastava, Abhay directed by Ken Ghosh, Medically Yourrs directed by Abhijit Das, The Verdict: State vs Nanavati directed by Shashant Shah, Minus One directed by Shubham Yogi, The Family Man directed by Raj Nidhimoru and Krishna D.K., Broken But Beautiful S2 directed by Harsh Dedhia, Brochara directed by Simarpreet Singh, It Happened in Calcutta directed by Ken Ghosh, Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain S3 directed by Abhijit Das, SCAM 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story directed by Hansal Mehta, City of Dreams S2 directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, Tryst Wth Destiny directed by Prashant Nair, Bestseller directed by Mukul Abhyankar and Trial By Fire directed by Prashant Nair.

Over the years, Ivan has gained popularity amongst the youth for featuring in several Filter Copy, Dice Media and Arré web sketches on YouTube.

In Voice Acting / VOs

Ivan is a professional Voice Over Actor and has lent his voice to several TVCs and Corporate AVs. He has also voiced for the character of Feroze Modi in Amazon audibles Spot Dada directed by Riya Mukherjee and as Mr. Shah in Pitching Pyaar directed by Saad Khan

As Interviewer

Ivan is a professional interviewer and has interviewed many top CXOs and Business Leaders as part of the Economic Times Cutting Chai Stories as also The Brand Story. These interviews are available on YouTube.

As Compere

Ivan Rodrigues compering a Dun and Bradstreet event Ivan Compere01.jpg
Ivan Rodrigues compering a Dun and Bradstreet event

Ivan's background as a senior management professional helps bring insight into the pulse of the audience and the profiled speakers and dignitaries. He has the ability to keep proceedings on track and to time, as well as keep things light. He has been a Compere and MC for corporate events organized by conference producers such as Times Conferences (ET Edge), Dun & Bradstreet, Bloomberg, NRAI, UBM & EC Council.

TEDx Speaker

Ivan delivered his first TED Talk at TEDx MSRIT in Bangalore titled, "You Are Never Too Old To Pursue Your Dreams".

Speech and Drama Workshops

He has regularly conducted speech and drama workshops for school children and corporates.

Filmography

Akshara Hassan and Ivan Rodrigues in Shamitabh Shamitabh01.jpg
Akshara Hassan and Ivan Rodrigues in Shamitabh

Films

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013 Satyagraha Channel Head
2015 Shamitabh Anay Verma
Kuch Kuch Locha Hai Mac Mundra
Dil Dhadakne Do Dharmapala Sr.
2016 Sultan Mr. Patel
Dear Zindagi VP Hotel
2017 Commando 2: The Black Money Trail Mr. Kamath
MOM Principal
Jagga Jasoos Mr. Ahuja
Tiger Zinda Hai India's Ambassador to Iraq
2018 Hichki Principal
Love Per Square Foot Noel MisquitaPlatform Netflix
ArmedDr. MurthyShort Film
Bioscopewala Airline Spokesperson
Gold Sports Official
2019 Uri: The Surgical Strike Brian D'souza
377 Ab NormalLawyer Anand GrewalPlatform Zee5
Bharat Gupta
Noblemen Deputy HeadmasterPlatform Netflix
UpstartsInvestor 3Platform Netflix
2020Unmothered (Short Film)Ankur
2021 Mumbai Saga Journalist Sanjay Kumar Pandey
Dial 100 Gautam MehraPlatform Zee5
Dybbuk Milind SanghviPlatform Amazon Prime
2022 Ek Villain Returns Thapar
2023 Gumraah Advocate Bijou
2024 Crew Divya's Father
TBA 3 Monkeys Abbas-Mustan film

Web series / TV series

YearTitleRoleNotes
2014 Samvidhaan – The Making of the Indian ConstitutionP. Subbarayan
2017The Big Fat CityKailashHindi Cineplay on Netflix
2017What The Folks - Season 1Sunil
2018 The Good Karma Hospital - Season 2Davinder BakshiEnglish series
2018Official CEOgiri - Season 2Vijay TalsaniaPlatform Arré
2018What's Your StatusBharat's Father
2018Better Life Foundation - Season 2Rajiv
2019 The Final Call ThakurPlatform Zee5
2019 Made in Heaven - Season 1PriestPlatform Amazon Prime Video
2019 Abhay - Season 1Channel HeadPlatform Zee5
2019 Medically Yourrs Dean Dr. Komudhi BanerjeePlatform Alt Balaji
2019Minus OneSubhash
2019 The Family Man - Season 1CEO of INITEKPlatform Amazon Prime Video
2019 The Verdict - State vs Nanavati Admiral KatariPlatform Alt Balaji
2019 Broken But Beautiful - Season 2 Ahaan's DadPlatform Alt Balaji and ZEE5
2019Brochaara - Season 1Boss
2020It Happened In CalcuttaDr. DasguptaPlatform Alt Balaji and ZEE5 [7]
2020 Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain - Season 3 ParitoshPlatform Alt Balaji
2020 SCAM 1992 - The Harshad Mehta Story Fortune India EditorPlatform SonyLIV
2020Lockdown RishteyDoctor
2020Lips Don't LieReporter
2021 City of Dreams - S2NambiarPlatform Disney Hotstar
2021Tryst With DestinyGalava's Lawyer SonyLIV
2022BestsellerDCP Mehrotra Amazon Prime
2023 Trial By Fire AbhishekPlatform Netflix

Amazon Audibles

YearFilmDirectorRole
2019Spot DadaRiya MukherjeeFeroz Modi
2022Pitching Pyar Saad Khan Mr. Shah

Films / Web series / TV series - Awaiting release / Post production / Shooting for

YearFilmDirectorRole
20243 Monkeys Abbas Mustan Ravindra Jacob
2024Colour BlackAnand SinghIvan
2024Culture Vulture Sudhish Kamath Pai - Boss
2024Covid StoriesAbhishek AcharyaDr. D'silva

Plays

No.TitlePlaywrightRoleNotes
1 The Chairs Eugène Ionesco Actor and Director
2Stale News Badal Sircar Actor and Director
3 Krapp's Last Tape Samuel Beckett Actor
4 The Fantasticks Harvey SchmidtActor
5Procession Badal Sircar Actor
6In The Matter Of J. Robert OppenheimerHeinar KipphardtActor
7The Public Eye Peter Shaffer Actor
8Holy RiverEtienne CoutinhoActor
9 Animal Farm (George Orwell)Arundhati RajaActor
10The Big Fat City Mahesh Dattani Actor [8] [9]
11The Scent Of A ManIvan Rodrigues (self)Writer [10] [11]
12Date(d)Actor
13Do You, I DoActor

References

  1. "The Big Fat City play review , English play review - www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com". mumbaitheatreguide.com.
  2. "Ashvin Gidwani's 'The Scent of A Man' touches sensitive cords of long-term relationships in lighter notes". 6 November 2013.
  3. "Crossword hosts a Play Reading of Ashvin Gidwani's 'The Big Fat City'".
  4. "The Scent of a Man English Play/Drama - www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com". mumbaitheatreguide.com.
  5. "Do You? I Do!". insider.in.
  6. "Ivan Rodrigues". IMDb.
  7. "It Happened in Calcutta (Zee5 and ALTBalaji): A love saga from the golden age" . Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  8. "India's First Black Comedy to be staged in Mumbai - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  9. "'The Big Fat City' is about subtle dark humour - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  10. "Lust and lies can be fun - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  11. "Theatre review: The Scent Of A Man - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 November 2020.