Naren Weiss | |
---|---|
![]() Weiss during a photoshoot in New York City in 2016 | |
Born | March 15, 1991 33) Houston, Texas, U.S. | (age
Occupation(s) | Actor, playwright, model |
Years active | 2010–present |
Known for | |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
Naren Weiss (born March 15, 1991) is an actor, playwright, and former model. He played Osama bin Laden in Kamal Haasan's film on terrorism Vishwaroopam , Dekker in the ABC series Deception , and is known for his work in theatre in India and the United States.
Born in Nassau Bay, 30 minutes outside of Houston, Weiss's family bounced around various places in the U.S. until, at the age of 12, the family migrated to Madras. While finishing his education, he found his love for the stage in several school and college productions, and went on to attend Madras Christian College and Brooklyn College. He is of mixed ethnicity and worked as a model during college, appearing in campaigns for Sprite, Bank of India, The Chennai Silks and on magazine covers like India Today. [1] He was discovered by VJ Paloma Rao while performing onstage, leading to his becoming a VJ for Channel UFX. He comes from an athletic background, and turned down several scholarships to play basketball at the collegiate level to instead focus on acting. [2] [3]
Naren Weiss began his career onstage in Chennai, acting and writing in plays for The Little Theatre, the Stray Factory, and The Hindu Metroplus Theater Fest. He found success as a young stage actor and received visibility from the Indian media, being called "enchantingly scraggly and gloriously flamboyant" ( The Hindu ) and "annoying perfection" ( The New Indian Express ). [4] [5]
He had a small role in Good Night Good Morning , notably played Osama bin Laden in Vishwaroopam , and had an unsuccessful audition run for the title role in Life of Pi . He played a separate character named Pi years later in the Chinese film Love is a Broadway Hit directed by Peter Lee, a long-time friend and associate of Life of Pi director Ang Lee. [6]
He acted in the United States in 2014 in New York City. His performance as an Israeli immigrant in Meron Langsner's Over Here [7] [8] was successful, and he had other roles at the Geffen Playhouse, Kennedy Center, Off-Broadway, and guest roles on American television shows such as Elementary , The Brave , Broad City and others. [9] For his work on The Brave, NBC submitted him for consideration in the Outstanding Guest Actor category for the 2018 Primetime Emmy Awards, although he did not receive a nomination. [10]
He is one among a small number of playwrights from the Indian subcontinent writing in English, [11] and has had his work performed around the world; including at the prestigious Hindu Metroplus Theater Festival, National Arts Festival, Hollywood Fringe Festival, Alliance Francaise of Singapore, various global Short+Sweet Festivals, and across India. [12] [13] [14]
His book Deepak and Raj: Two Indian Plays reached #1 on Amazon's playwriting list in 2020. [15]
Naren Weiss speaks multiple languages, and was a translator for Madam Secretary . He also taught playwriting at The City College of New York.
Kamal Haasan is an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, choreographer, playback singer, lyricist, television presenter, social activist and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil, he has also appeared in some Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali films. Considered as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema, Haasan is also known for introducing many new film technologies and film making techniques to the Indian film industry. He has won numerous accolades, including Four National Film Awards, Nine Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Four Nandi Awards, One Rashtrapati Award, Two Filmfare Awards and 17 Filmfare Awards South. He was awarded the Kalaimamani Award in 1984, the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) in 2016.
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor and athlete who primarily works in Hindi films. Bose is the president of the Indian Rugby Football Union.
Sachin Gupta is an Indian film producer, writer and director. He produces films under Chilsag Motion Pictures and is also an artistic director of Chilsag Chillies Theatre Company. He made his writing and directorial debut with the critically acclaimed film Paranthe Wali Gali (2014). He also shot to fame with Pakhi (2018). Gupta's sojourn into theatre started when he was 12 years old, and to date he has staged more than 100 shows around the world, working as an actor, director and playwright. His award-winning Off Broadway plays include Celebration of Life, Handicapped City, and Kailashnath weds Madhumati. He staged these in New York and in Toronto, Canada for which he got huge appreciation amongst theatre lovers in North America. Sachin Gupta was also the recipient of the Natya Bhushan award in 2012.
Arun Vijay, formerly known as Arun Kumar, is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. He also starred in a few films in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.
The Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders were ten murders committed by Rajendra Jakkal, Dilip Sutar, Shantaram Kanhoji Jagtap and Munawar Harun Shah of Pune, India between January 1976 and March 1977. All the murderers were commercial art students at the Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya, Tilak Road, and were hanged for their crimes on 27 November 1983. The group had acquired a poor reputation on their college campus for robbery and drinking.
Jaideep Ahlawat is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi films and series. After graduating from the Film and Television Institute of India, he played minor roles in several films before appearing in the crime film Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). This was followed by supporting roles in several films, including Commando: A One Man Army (2013), Gabbar Is Back (2015), Vishwaroopam II (2018).
Vishwaroopam is a 2013 Indian action spy film co-written, directed and produced by Kamal Haasan, who also enacts the lead role. The film also stars Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah, Nassar and Jaideep Ahlawat in supporting roles. The film's script was written by Kamal Hassan, Chakri Toleti and Atul Tiwari. In the film, Nirupama, an ambitious woman studying in the US, marries a coward classical dancer, Viswanathan. On being suspicious of his behaviour, she hires a detective, who reveals his true identity and past.
Brijendra Kala is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films. He is known for his subtle portrayals of characters rooted in reality. He gained attention for his small roles in mainstream cinema.
Suraj Sharma is an Indian actor who made his debut in the 2012 film Life of Pi. Directed by Ang Lee, the film was adapted from the novel of the same name, and earned Sharma critical acclaim as well as a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination. In 2014, he portrayed Aayan Ibrahim in season 4 of the Showtime series Homeland. From 2018 to 2020, he starred as Rakesh Singh in the CBS comedy-drama series God Friended Me.
Vishwaroopam II, or Vishwaroop II, is a 2018 Indian action spy film written and directed by Kamal Haasan and co-written by Atul Tiwari and Chakri Toleti. It is the sequel to Vishwaroopam (2013) and features Kamal Haasan alongside Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah, reprising their roles. While the first film was set in the United States, Vishwaroopam II takes place in India. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil and Hindi.
Shekinah Jacob is an Indian playwright who has appeared in Edinburgh Fringe and worked with the Royal Court Theatre.
Annie Zaidi is an English-language writer from India. Her novel, Prelude To A Riot, won the Tata Literature Live! Awards for Book of the Year 2020. In 2019, she won The Nine Dots Prize for her work Bread, Cement, Cactus and in 2018 she won The Hindu Playwright Award for her play, Untitled-1. Her non-fiction debut, a collection of essays, Known Turf: Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales, was short-listed for the Vodafone Crossword Book Award in 2010.
Deepak Dinkar is an Indian anchor and actor, who has primarily appeared in Tamil television. He is most known for his role as Tamil in the prime time Sun TV serial Thendral. He is known for acting in many serials, notably Anni, Rekkai Kattiya Manasu, Manaivi, Malargal, Selvi, Bhantham, Ketti Melam, Arasi & Thirumathi Selvam. He is also a television host for various shows notably Jodi Number One on Star Vijay and Dance Jodi Dance on Zee Tamil. Currently, Deepak is acting in the soap Thamizhum Saraswathiyum on Star Vijay.
Venkatesh Harinathan is an Indian actor, who appears in Tamil cinema (Kollywood).
Zakir Khan is an Indian comedian, poet and actor. In 2012, he rose to popularity by winning Comedy Central. Khan has also been a part of a news comedy show, On Air with AIB. He has released four hour-length standup specials: Haq Se Single (2017), Kaksha Gyarvi (2018), Tathastu (2022) and Mannpasand (2023) on Amazon Prime Video.
Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru, also known as D-16, is a 2016 Indian neo-noir crime thriller film written and directed by Karthick Naren, and starring Rahman. Featuring a predominantly new cast and crew, the film features music composed by Jakes Bejoy, cinematography handled by Sujith Sarang and editing done by Sreejith Sarang. Released on 29 December 2016, the film went on to gain positive reviews from film critics as well becoming a sleeper hit and blockbuster. The film was remade in Kannada as Aa Drushya (2019). The film is going to be remade in Hindi with Varun Dhawan in the lead role.
Karthick Naren is an Indian filmmaker who works in Tamil cinema. Naren broke into the Tamil film industry having had directed several award-winning short films like Pradhi and Nirangal Moondru before his feature film debut. He made his big screen debut through the 2016 film Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru which went on to become a sleeper hit.
Luke Kenny is an Indian actor, film director, producer, music director, composer, and former VJ. He began his career as a DJ, followed by a successful stint as the first male VJ on Channel V. He gained widespread recognition for his role in the 2008 rock musical drama Rock On!!
Mahesh Narayanan is an Indian film director, screenwriter, editor and cinematographer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, he has also worked in Tamil and Hindi films. He is a recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director (2017) and Kerala State Film Award for Best Director (2022).
Dhruv Vikram is an Indian actor, singer and lyricist who works in Tamil films. The son of actor Vikram, he made his acting debut with the 2019 romantic drama Adithya Varma and starred with his father in Mahaan (2022). Since 2022, he has worked primarily as a singer, both on films and non-film songs.