Lalleshwari, also commonly known as Lal Ded, was a Kashmiri mystic of the Kashmir Shaivism school of Hindu philosophy. She was the creator of the style of mystic poetry called vatsun or Vakhs, meaning "speech". Known as Lal Vakhs, her verses are among the early compositions in the Kashmiri language and are a part in the history of modern Kashmiri literature.
National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school in 1975. In 2005, it was granted deemed university status, but in 2011 it was revoked. Paresh Rawal is the current Chairperson & Chittaranjan Tripathy currently serves as Director of National School of Drama (NSD).
Rohini Hattangadi is an Indian actress, known for her work in Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Gujarati films, and Marathi soap operas and theatre. She has won two Filmfare Awards, one National Film Award, and is the only Indian actress to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi (1982).
Nadira Babbar is an Indian theatre actress, director and an actress in Hindi cinema, who is the recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2001. Nadira founded a Mumbai-based theatre group called Ekjute, a known name in Hindi theatre in 1981.
Seema Biswas is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and the theatre. She gained prominence after playing the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film Bandit Queen (1994), for which she won the National Film Award for Best Actress. She won the 2000 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the 2006 Best Actress Genie Award for her role as Shakuntala in Deepa Mehta's Water (2005). Her other mainstream films include Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), for which she won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress, Bhoot (2003), Vivah (2006) and Half Girlfriend (2017). In addition to films, Biswas has appeared in many television shows.
Pratima Kannan is an Indian television actress who has worked in many Bollywood movies and Hindi television drama series. She started her career in 1997 with an English film called Sixth Happiness.
Tisca Zareen Chopra is an Indian actress, author and film producer who has appeared in over 45 feature films, predominantly in Hindi language.
Drishti (transl. Vision) is a 1990 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Govind Nihalani, starring Dimple Kapadia, Shekhar Kapur and Irrfan. The film depicts the marital life of an urban couple from an upper-class milieu in Mumbai and follow their trials and tribulations, infidelity, divorce, and meeting after years of separation.
Jaya Seal is an Indian actress and dancer. She started learning Bharatanatyam from a very early age under Guru Indira P. P. Bora for five years. Simultaneously, she was also acting in Assamese television and did plays with noted Assamese theatre personalities from NSD like Dulal Roy and Baharul Islam who inspired her. She went to the National School of Drama in New Delhi where she subsequently completed her three-year course in 1997.
Anjali Patil is an Indian actress who works in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil film productions. She has received several awards including a National Film Award and a Filmfare Marathi Award. She received the IFFI Best Actor Award (Female) Silver Peacock Award at the 43rd International Film Festival of India her role in the Sri Lankan film With You, Without You
Rita Ganguly is an exponent in the Indian classical arts. An accomplished dancer, musician and vocalist, she was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2000 and with the Padma Shri in 2003. She is the mother of actress Meghna Kothari and the younger sister of the famous Ravindra Sangeet singer Gita Ghatak.
Anurupa Roy is an Indian puppeteer, puppet designer and director of puppet theater. Roy views puppetry as not "manipulating dolls with strings" but an amalgam of plastic and performing arts where sculptures, masks, figures, materials, found objects and narratives come together with music, movement, physicality and theater to create the theater where humans and puppets are co actors. She started at her group Katkatha in 1998 which was registered as the Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust 2006. She has directed over 15 shows for children and adults ranging from the Ramayana and Mahabharata to Shakespearean comedy to the Humayun-nama. The puppets used by the group range from three inches to forty feet in size. The shows have toured across Europe, Japan and South Asia. A major aspect of her work is using puppets for psychosocial interventions in conflict areas like Kashmir, Sri Lanka and Manipur to Juvenile Remand homes. She has worked with youth and women across the country using puppets to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and gender issues. She is a recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar ine Puppetry (2006). She has been a visiting faculty at the University of California Los Angeles an Artists in Residence at Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council.
Waman Kendre is an Indian theatre director and academician. He has previously served as the Director of National School of Drama, (NSD) New Delhi from August 2013 to September 2018. He is married to Actress Gauri Kendre and also has a son
Kaala Teeka is an Indian Hindi-language serial drama television series on Zee TV. The series is produced by DJ's a Creative Unit. The show shows a story set against superstitions. The music of the show is done by Dony½ Hazarika and Udbhav Ojha. it replaced Tum Hi Ho Bandhu Sakha Tumhi and was replaced by Sethji in its time slot.
Namrata Thapa is an Indian film and television actress. She appeared in Yahaaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli as Swarnlata Raj Singhania.
Simran Pareenja is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi television. She made her acting debut in 2015 with Tu Mera Hero portraying Rajni. Pareenja is best known for her portrayal of Bhoomi Agrawal Prajapati in Bhagyalaxmi and her dual portrayal of Kaali Nandu Singh and Thakurain Pavitra in Kaala Teeka.
Uma Dogra is an Indian exponent of Kathak, an Indian Classical Dance form. She is the senior most disciple of Pt. Durga Lal, the Kathak Maestro from Jaipur Gharana. She is a Kathak soloist, a choreographer and a teacher. She has been performing in India and abroad for more than 40 years.
Yamini Singh is an Indian film and television actress who works in Hindi films and television. Her first film role came in K. Bikram Singh's Tarpan (1994), also starring Om Puri, Revathi, Manohar Singh and Mita Vashisht. Some of her television shows are: Bandhan (1999), Daaman (2001), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi...Let's Go (2015), Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari (2009), Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai (2007) and Jhoome Jiiya Re (2007).
Nighat Chaudhry is a Kathak classical dancer who was born on 24 February 1959, in Lahore, Pakistan. She moved to London with her parents when she was one year old. She studied ballet and contemporary dance; but when she was 14, she met Nahid Siddiqui, one of the greatest Kathak dancers, and began training with her. Inspired to learn the classical forms of her own culture, she abandoned ballet. In order to understand and absorb the nuances of the Indian style, she wished to be closer to its origins; and she moved back to Pakistan. She eventually became a trained Sufi & Mystique Kathak classical dancer and has been active as a professional Kathak dancer for over three decades.
Akshara Singh is an Indian actress who is primarily active in Bhojpuri films and, is a recipient of several awards. Singh is known for her roles in films like action drama Tabadala, political drama Sarkar Raj and action romance Satya. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Bhojpuri cinema.
