# Goutam Halder

Goutam Halder (born 9 December 1963) is an Indian theatre and film actor from Kolkata. He has appeared in more than 50 theatrical productions since 1981 across various troupes, and is the recipient of several accolades including a State Award of Best Production for Meghnad Badh Kabya in 1995, State Award as Best Director for Chile Kothar Sepai in 1997, Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Award by Government of Maharasthra in 2001 and Shyamal Sen Smriti Samman in 2013.
After graduating from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara Goutam Halder followed his heart into theatrical pursuits where he started gaining tutelage in Nandikar’s Comprehensive Theatre Training, 1986-87 where he gained knowledge, experience and practice under stalwarts like Rudraprasad Sengupta (Guru), Shombhu Mitra (Theatre legend), Khaled Chowdhury(Acclaimed scenographer), Tapas Sen (renowned Lighting Designer), Martin Russell (Fools Theatre, New York) among others.
Halder’s career began with his portrayal of Jaisingha in Bisarjan at Bhatpara Sanskritik Chakra which had been directed by Hara Bhattacharya. After completion of his training programme at Nandikar, he went on to direct and act in plays like Football (1986), Shesh Shakkhatkar (1988), Pheriwalar Mrityu(1993), Meghnad Badh Kabya (1995), Nagar Kirtan (1997), Sojon Badiyar Ghat (2003) among multiple others, under the banner of Nandikar. In 2009, he formed his own troupe Naye Natua which has also produced multiple successful plays. He is the President of the troupe.

## Early life and personal life

Halder was born on 9 December 1963 in, Bhatpara, West Bengal, India. He has a younger brother. He graduated from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara.
He has been trained in Kathak at Padatik Dance Centre under Guru Vijay Shankar. He has also dedicatedly learnt Bharatnatyam in Kerala Kalamandalam under Guru Govindan Kutty and Thankamani Kutty. He has been learning Modern dance and Movement and Martial Arts under Guru Sudipta Kundu since 2000. He has also trained himself in Classical vocal music under Guru Ashis Chattopadhyay and Guru Prabir Datta since 1986.

## Performing arts career

After completion of his Graduation, Halder began his career at Nandikar with the play Football (1986), directed by Rudraprasad Sengupta where he played the lead role of Hari. Following his start, he starred in other plays directed by Rudraprasad Sengupta like Shesh Shakkhatkar (1988), Sankhapurer Sukanya (1990) and Pheriwalar Mrityu (1993). Apart from Nandikar, Goutam Halder has also worked with other troupes and played significant and leading roles in their productions. They include Mephisto (2002), Shah Jahan (Natyaranga, 2003), Meyeti (Kalyani Natyacharcha Kendra, 2008), Dream Dream (Sansriti, 2009), Bisarjan (Tritiyo Sutra, 2010), Itsy Bitsy (Hate Khori, 2012), Caligula (Prachyo, 2013), Altaf Gomes (Sansriti, 2013), Arabya Rajani (Paikpara Indraranga, 2014), Mumbai Nights (Minerva Repertoire Theatre, 2015), Kalkreta (Swapnalu, 2015), Ila Gurdhoisha (Theatre Platform, 2015), Nilima (Prachyo, 2016), Mudrarakhshash (Belgharia Angan, 2016) and Chayapother Seshe (Natyorongo, 2023).

### Theatrical Career as an actor and director

Goutam Halder made his directorial debut in Nandikar with Meghnadbadh Kabya in 1995, followed by Nagar Kirtan (1997), Brechter Khonje (1998), Calcutta Calcutta (1999), Ei Sahar Ei Somoy (2000), Maramiya Mon (2000), Borda (2002), Kabye Gaane (2002), Sojon Badiyar Ghat (2003) and Amake Dekhun (2007). He has also played the lead role in the following plays as well.
After forming his own troupe, Naye Natua in 2009, he directed and acted in Jaal (2009), followed by plays like Jama Kharach (2009), Missed Call (2009), Meghnadbadh Kabya (2009, revived), Borda (2009, revived), Amake Dekhun (2009, revival), Osama (2012), Lakshmir Pariksha (2012), Nana Range Rabi (2012), Othello (2013), Haoai (2015), Thakurmar Jhuli (2015), Moimonsingha Geetika (2017), Mrichchhakatika (2018), Nakshi Kathar Math (2020), Mitali (2022) and Doosra (2024).
Career as a film actor: Goutam Halder has acted in films like Tadanto (dir. Nitish Roy), Alinagarer Golokdhadha (dir. Sayantan Ghoshal), Maya Mridanga (dir. Raja Sen), Shri Swapankumarer Badami Hyenar Kobole (dir. Debaloy Bhattacharya), Badnaam (dir.Nitish Mukherjee), Tara (dir. Bratya Basu), Artha (dir. Anjan Dutt) and Imaginary Line (dir. Josey Joseph).

### Lectures and Workshops

Halder has given lectures at Georgia University, Athens, Georgia, USA, Edinburgh Theatre Festival, Scotland and International Dance & Theatre Festival, Goteborg, Sweden. Halder has also conducted various theatre workshops such as Naye Natua’s Theatre Training Programme, Nandikar’s annual Theatre Training Programme for the Young, Nandikar’s Theatre-in-Education Programmes in Secondary Schools since 1989, Nandikar’s Project In Search of Children’s Theatre, Trainer at BLP for Murugappa Group of Industries, Chennai, Trainer-Judge at British Council Theatre Festival among various others. He has also conducted various workshops at various others troupes all over India.

## Goutam Halder on stage and screen
### Stage

| Sl No | Year | Production | Story / Poet / Playwright / Translator / Adaptor | Director | Role | Group |
| 1 | 1981 | Bisarjan | Rabindranath Tagore | Hara Bhattacharya | Jaisingha | Sanskritik Chakra, Bhatpara |
| 2 | 1982 | Ekjan Siddhartha Mitra Bujhte Parchen | Henrik Ibsen / Hara Bhattacharya | Hara Bhattacharya | Siddhartha | Sanskritik Chakra, Bhatpara |
| 3 | 1982 | Samadhan | Bertolt Brecht / Utpal Dutt | Hara Bhattacharya | People | Sanskritik Chakra, Bhatpara |
| 4 | 1984 | Danab | Yvgeny Shwartz / Ashok Mukhopadhyay | Bidyut Nag | Pagriwalla | Prayas |
| 5 | 1986 | Football | Peter Terson / Rudraprasad Sengupta | Swatilekha and Rudraprasad Sengupta | Hari | Nandikar |
| 6 | 1988 | Shesh Sakkhatkar | Vladlen Dozortse / Rudraprasad Sengupta | Rudraprasad Sengupta | Dr. Karmakar | Nandikar |
| 7 | 1990 | Sankhapurer Sukanya | Bertolt Brecht / Rudraprasad Sengupta | Rudraprasad Sengupta | Yang Sung | Nandikar |
| 8 | 1993 | Pheriwalar Mrityu | Arthur Miller / Rudraprasad Sengupta | Rudraprasad Sengupta | Babu | Nandikar |
| 9 | 1995 | Meghnadbadh Kabya | Michael Madhusudan Dutt | Goutam Halder | Narrator | Nandikar |
| 10 | 1996 | Gotrahin | Arthur Miller / Rudraprasad Sengupta | | | Nandikar |
| 11 | 1997 | Nagar Kirtan | Koushik Roy Chowdhury, Goutam Halder | Goutam Halder | Narayan | Nandikar |
| 12 | 1998 | Brechter Khonje | Koushik Roy Chowdhury, Rudraprasad Sengupta | Goutam Halder | Lead Singer | Nandikar |
| 13 | 1999 | Calcutta Calcutta | Koushik Roy Chowdhury, Rudraprasad Sengupta, Shankha Ghosh, Joy Goswami | Goutam Halder | Lead Singer | Nandikar |
| 14 | 2000 | Ei Sahar Ei Samay | Swatilekha Sengupta, Rudraprasad Sengupta, Koushik Roy Chowdhury, Goutam Halder, Joy Goswami | Swatilekha Sengupta, Rudraprasad Sengupta, Goutam Halder | Lead Singer | Nandikar |
| 15 | 2000 | Maramiya Mon | Fyodor Dostoevsky / Rudraprasad Sengupta | Goutam Halder | Narrator | Nandikar |
| 16 | 2001 | Football (Revival) | Peter Tarson / Rudraprasad Sengupta | Swatilekha and Rudraprasad Sengupta | Hari | Nandikar |
| 17 | 2002 | Borda | Munshi Premchand | Goutam Halder | Narrator | Nandikar |
| 18 | 2002 | Kabye Gane | Rabindranath Tagore (collected folk rhymes), Buddhadeva Bose, Sankha Ghosh, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Joy Goswami, Koushik Roy Chowdhury, etc. | Goutam Halder | Narrator | Nandikar |
| 19 | 2002 | Mephisto | Ariel Muchkin / Suman Mukhopadhyay | Suman Mukhopadhyay | Henrik Hoffgen | Collective Enterprise |
| 20 | 2003 | Shah Jahan | Dwijendra Lal Roy | Swapan Sengupta | Shah Jahan | Natyaranga |
| 21 | 2003 | Sojon Badiyar Ghat | Jasimuddin | Goutam Halder | Sojon | Nandikar |
| 22 | 2006 | Rater Kutum | Ashapurna Devi | Collective | Nosu | Nandikar |
| 23 | 2007 | Amake Dekhun | Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay | Goutam Halder | The Man | Nandikar |
| 24 | 2008 | Meyeti | Ariel Dorfman | Kishore Sengupta | Roberto Miranda | Kalyani Natya Charcha Kendra |
| 25 | 2009 | Jal | Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay / Goutam Halder | Goutam Halder | Clerk | Naye Natua |
| 26 | 2009 | Jama Kharach | Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay / Goutam Halder | Goutam Halder | Mukhujje | Naye Natua |
| 27 | 2009 | Missed Call | Debshnakar Halder | Goutam Halder | Laltu | Naye Natua |
| 28 | 2009 | Meghnadbadh Kabya (Revival) | Michael Madhusudan Dutt | Goutam Halder | Narrator | Naye Natua |
| 29 | 2009 | Borda (Revival) | Munshi Premchand | Goutam Halder | Borda | Naye Natua |
| 30 | 2009 | Amake Dekhun (Revival) | Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay | Goutam Halder | The Man | Naye Natua |
| 31 | 2009 | Dream Dream | William Shakespeare / Partha Chatterjee | Goutam Halder | Ustad | Sansriti |
| 32 | 2010 | Bisarjan | Rabindranath Tagore | Suman Mukhopadhyay | Raghupati | Tritiyo Sutra |
| 33 | 2012 | Itsy Bitsy | Chiranjib Basu | Debasish Ghosh Dastidar | Somnath | Hate Khori |
| 34 | 2012 | Osama | Jean Paul Sartre / Goutam Halder | Goutam Halder | Osama | Naye Natua |
| 35 | 2012 | Lakshmir Pariksha | Rabindranath Tagore | Goutam Halder | Kshiro | Naye Natua |
| 36 | 2012 | Nana Ronge Rabi | Rabindranath Tagore | Goutam Halder | | Naye Natua |
| 37 | 2013 | Caligula | Albert Camus | Biplab Bandopadhyay | Caligula | Prachyo |
| 38 | 2013 | Othello | William Shakespeare / Ratan Kumar Das | Goutam Halder | Othello | Naye Natua |
| 39 | 2013 | Mephisto (Renewal) | Ariel Muchkin / Suman Mukhopadhyay | Suman Mukhopadhyay | Henrik Hoffgen | Tritiyo Sutra |
| 40 | 2013 | Altaf Gomes | Bratya Basu | Debesh Chattopadhyay | Gomes | Sansriti |
| 41 | 2014 | Arabya Rajani | Ujjwal Chattopadhyay | Ujjwal Chattopadhyay | Nihswo | Paikpara Indraranga |
| 42 | 2015 | Haoai | Evald Flisar/ Ratan Kr. Das | Goutam Halder | Pintuda (Peter) | Naye Natua |
| 43 | 2015 | Thakurmar Jhuli | Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder | Goutam Halder | Narrator | Naye Natua |
| 44 | 2015 | Mumbai Nights | William Shakespeare /Debashis Roy | Bratya Basu | Malvolio | Minerva Repertoire Theatre |
| 45 | 2015 | Kalkreta | Premangshu Roy | Premangshu Roy | Raja | Swapnalu |
| 46 | 2015 | Ila Gurdhoisha | Bratya Basu | Debashis Roy | Birnarayan | Theatre Platform |
| 47 | 2016 | Nilima - based on Eugène Ionesco’s The Lesson | Eugène Ionesco | Biplab Bandopadhyay | Professor | Prachyo |
| 48 | 2016 | Mudrarakshash | Adaptation by Ratan Kumar Das | Biplab Bandopadhyay | Chanakya | Belgharia Angan |
| 49 | 2017 | Moimonsingha Geetika | Ballad by Dwija Kanai | Goutam Halder | Narrator/Humra | Naye Natua |
| 50 | 2018 | Mrichchhakatika | Shudrak | Goutam Halder | | Naye Natua |
| 51 | 2020 | Nakshi Kanthar Math | Jasimuddin | Goutam Halder | | Naye Natua |
| 52 | 2022 | Mitali | Story by Fyodor Dostoevsky/ Dramatization by Goutam Halder | Goutam Halder | Narrator | Naye Natua |
| 53 | 2023 | Chayapother Sheshe | Sohan Bandyopadhyay | Sohan Bandyopadhyay | | Nataranga |
| 54 | 2024 | Doosra | Play by Evald Flisar/ Adaptation by Ratan kumar Das | Goutam Halder | Boss | Naye Natua |

### Film

He also acted in Bengali movies directed by Bengali directors like Raja Sen, Nitish Roy.
* Shri Swapankumarer Badami Hyenar Kobole (2024) by Debaloy Bhattacharya
* Alinagarer Golokdhadha (2018) by Sayantan Ghosal
* Maya Mridanga (2016) by Raja Sen (co actors - Rituparna Sengupta, Paoli Dam, Debshankar Halder)
* Tadanto (2016) by Nitish Roy (co actors - Rahul Banerjee, Priyanka Sarkar, Rituparna Sengupta, Debshankar Halder, Kaushik Sen)

## Awards

* Awarded Scholarship by Department of Culture, Govt. of India (1993-1995)
* Awarded Junior Fellowship by Department of Culture, Govt. of India (1997-1998)
* Awarded Senior Fellowship by Department of Culture, Govt. of India (2004-2006)
* State Award of Best Production for Meghnad Badh Kabya in 1995
* State Award as Best Director for Chile Kothar Sepai in 1997
* Awarded Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Award (2001) by Government of Maharashtra
* Awarded Shyamal Sen Smriti Samman (2013) by Swapnasandhani – theatre troupe directed by eminent actor Koushik Sen.