Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar was an Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marathi. His Marathi plays established him as a writer of plays with contemporary, unconventional themes. He is best known for his plays Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (1967), Ghashiram Kotwal (1972), and Sakharam Binder (1972). Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals, which provide clear light on harsh realities. He has provided guidance to students studying "play writing" in US universities. Tendulkar was a dramatist and theatre personality in Maharashtra for over five decades.
Mahesh Elkunchwar is an Indian playwright and screenplay writer in Marathi language with more than 20 plays to his name, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his active work in India's Parallel Cinema as actor and screenwriter. Today along with Vijay Tendulkar, he is credited as one of the most influential and progressive playwrights not just in Marathi theatre, but also in Indian theatre. In 2014, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour in performing arts in India.
Prabha Atre was an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana. She was awarded all three of the Padma Awards by the Government of India. She died after experiencing breathing difficulty in the early hours and was taken to Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital. She died from cardiac arrest before reaching the hospital. Atre died on 13 January 2024, at the age of 91.
Jaywant Dalvi was a prominent contemporary Marathi writer in Maharashtra.
Dr. Shriram Lagoo was an Indian film and theatre actor, in Hindi and Marathi, in addition to being an ENT Surgeon. He was known for his character roles in films. He acted in over 250 films including Hindi and Marathi films as well as Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati plays, and directed over 20 Marathi plays. He was also very vocal and active in furthering progressive and rational social causes, for example in 1999, he and social activist G. P. Pradhan undertook a fast in support of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. He won the 1978 Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Hindi film Gharaonda. His autobiography is titled Lamaan (लमाण), which means "the carrier of goods".
Arundhati Nag is an Indian actress. She has been involved with multilingual Theatre in India, for over 25 years, first in Mumbai where she got involved with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), and did various productions in Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi theatre, and then in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and English, in Bangalore.
Tamasha is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India. It has also been the subject of several Marathi films. Some Hindi movies have also included Tamasha-themed songs, known as Lavanis, in the past.
Bhakti Barve was an Indian film, theatre and television actress in Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati. She is best known for her role in Kundan Shah's comedy Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), where she acted alongside Naseeruddin Shah, Satish Shah and Ravi Baswani.
Sudha Shivpuri was an Indian actress who was most famous for her role as Baa in the Hindi TV serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (2000–2008).
Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe is a Marathi play written by Indian playwright Vijay Tendulkar in 1963 and first performed in 1967, directed by Arvind Deshpande, with Sulbha Deshpande as the main lead. Film received National Film Award for Best Marathi Feature Film At 19th National Film Awards. Sulabha Deshpande Won Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Actress.
Sarita Joshi is an Indian actress. Cited amongst the finest and most significant actors of Gujarati and Marathi theatre, Joshi is known for her Gujarati plays done with her husband Pravin Joshi in the 1970s. She garnered widespread recognition for her role as the matriarch Godavari Thakkar in the Star Plus hit dramedy Baa Bahoo Aur Baby (2005-2010). In 1988, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Acting in Gujarati by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. In 2020, she has been awarded with Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award for her contribution in Art. She was recently seen in (2019) Zee TV's Hamari Bahu Silk as a hard-working business woman who hates films especially 'A' grade films. Sarita Joshi is currently seen on Anupama: Namaste America a prequel web series to Star Plus show Anupamaa.
Bhaskar Chandavarkar was an Indian sitar player, academic and film and theatre composer who worked with well-known directors of Indian cinema like Mrinal Sen, Girish Karnad, Aparna Sen, K. G. George and Amol Palekar in various languages including Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Oriya and was known for his blending of Indian classical and western music.
Leela Samson is a Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress from India. As a soloist, she is known for her technical virtuosity and has taught Bharatanatyam at Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra in Delhi for many years.
Shanta Gokhale is an Indian writer, translator, journalist and theatre critic. She is best known for her works Rita Welinkar and Tya Varshi.
Sulabha Deshpande was an Indian actress and theatre director. Apart from Marathi theatre and Hindi theatre in Mumbai, she acted in over 73 mainstream Bollywood films. She also performed in art house cinema such as Bhumika (1977), Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978), and Gaman (1978) as a character actor, along with numerous TV series and plays. A leading figure in the experimental theatre movement of the 1960s, she was associated with Rangayan, and personalities like Vijay Tendulkar, Vijaya Mehta, and Satyadev Dubey. In 1971, she co-founded the theatre group Awishkar with her husband Arvind Deshpande, and also started its children's wing, Chandrashala, which continues to perform professional children's theatre. In later years, she acted in serials such as Jee Ley Zara, Ek Packet Umeed, Asmita and in films such as English Vinglish (2012).
Suhasini Joshi, popularly known by her screen name Suhas Joshi, is a Marathi theater, film and television actress. She is also seen in many Bollywood films. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2018 for Acting.
Krishnarao Ganpatrao Sable, popularly known as Shahir Sable, was a Marathi language folk artist from Maharashtra, India. He was an accomplished singer, playwright, performer and folk theatre (Loknatya) producer & director. He was awarded with Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 1998 for his contribution in the field of arts.
Daji Bhatawadekar, was an Indian theatre personality and film and television actor. He was credited with the revival of Sanskrit and Marathi theatre in India. A winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1965, he was honoured by the Government of India in 1967, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society.
Arvind Deshpande was an acclaimed Indian film, theatre and television actor and theatre director. Apart from Marathi theatre as well as Hindi theatre in Mumbai, he acted in many mainstream Bollywood as well as art house films as a character actor, apart from TV series and plays.
Dattatray Ramachandra Bhat popularly known as Datta Bhat was an Indian film and theatre actor, in Hindi and Marathi.
