Mohit Takalkar

Mohit Ratnakar Takalkar, (born 18 August 1977) is an Indian theatre director, filmmaker, film editor, screenwriter and actor from Pune, Maharashtra. He has led and spawned a movement in Indian experimental theatre through his 25-year-long career and by co-founding the theatre company, 'Aasakta Kalamanch' in 2003.
Having directed more than 35 plays, Mohit Takalkar holds a postgraduate degree in Theatre Practice & Direction from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom, and is a recipient of the Homi Bhabha Fellowship, Charles Wallace Scholarship, and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, Shankar Nag Award for his work in the theatre.
'The Bright Day' is his directorial debut in full-length feature films followed by 'Chirebandi', 'Medium Spicy' and 'Occasional Reflection on the Contingencies of Life.'
He runs his restaurant, 'Barometer' in Pune. 
== Early life ==
Takalkar was born in Kalyan, Maharashtra. His father, Ratnakar Takalkar, worked in the human resource department in private companies, and his mother, Aparna Takalkar was a Primary School teacher. His elder brother Pushkaraj Takalkar is a Chartered Accountant.
As a child, he had to change schools and cities every three years due to his father's job. His upbringing was in a household where literature, music, theatre, and films were encouraged and appreciated. As a child he was extremely shy and reserved and hardly had any friends.
== Career ==
=== Theatre ===
He completed graduation from the Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai and briefly worked in the hospitality industry as a chef, before shifting his focus towards the entertainment industry. He then studied animation from the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing. From the year 2000, he worked with Indian Magic Eye, a Pune-based media product house, as a video editor, animator and assistant director for Marathi TV Shows which aired on ETV Marathi, Zee TV Marathi among others.
During this period, he spent a lot of time in the Film and Television Institute of India, running errands, assisting and playing bit roles in exercise and diploma films of students. It was here that he was introduced to films by great masters like Werner Herzog, Miklos Jancso, Yasujiro Ozu, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky and Krzysztof Kieslowski which left a lasting impression on him and his work whether in theatre or films.
During this period, Mohit started his theatre career with the Progressive Dramatic Association, Pune. He directed plays like 'Yayati' (1999) , 'Nanephek' (2001) and, 'Pratibimba' (2003). He won the Maharastra State Award for the Best Play and Best Director for 'Yayati' and 'Nanephek and later for ‘Tu’ (Year 2007).
In 2003, he co-founded Aasakta Kalamanch, to extensively work in cutting-edge theatre, experimenting with language, form, content, and presentation. Next seven years Takalkar directed a flurry of plays for Aasakta repertory, which were performed in Sudarshan Rangmanch, a small intimate theatre space for about 100 odd audiences, in the heart of Pune. Takalkar often acknowledges the contribution of this space in his bold experiments with his craft without the worry of finances and the pressure of appreciation from the audiences.
He has directed plays in Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, Hindustani, Rajasthani, and Kannada. His plays are known for minimalism in staging with a high level of technical excellence and strong visual language. Takalkar has worked in different genres of plays like realistic, absurd, political, comedies, musicals, and devised. Many of his plays revolve around the theme of death. His frequent collaborators are Pradeep Vaiddya as his lighting director, Rashmi Rode as a costume designer, and Ashish Mehta as his production designer. His plays showcased actors like Radhika Apte, Sagar Deshmukh, Amruta Subhash, Sarang Sathaye, Jitendra Joshi, Rajit Kapur, Girish Kulkarni, Mrinmayee Godbole, Devika Daftardar, Parna Pethe, Alok Rajwade, Amey Wagh , Ajeet Singh Palawat and others.
In the early 2000s, he teamed up with playwright Sachin Kundalkar and cemented his position as a young, noteworthy director by making plays, ‘Chhotyashya Sutteet’, ‘Fridge Madhye Thewlela Prem’, ‘Chandralok Complex’ and ‘Poornaviram’. In 2006, he directed ‘Tu’, based on 52 poems of Sufi Saint, Rumi, which was a catalyst in his approach towards theatre. It was invited by major National and International festivals including the Cairo International theatre festival and Takalkar's world opened beyond Marathi.
Eight of his plays have been showcased at the Bharat Rang Mahotsav, while six of his plays have been selected at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards. 
He received the Charles Wallace scholarship which enabled him to pursue his master's degree in Theatre Practice from the University of Exeter in 2010 under the guidance of Phillip Zarrilli. This exposure changed his practice and upon returning to India, he closed down seven of his ongoing productions to start making new plays with a fresh perspective. He directed plays with large ensemble casts which include ‘Comrade Kumbhakarna’ written by Ramu Ramanathan for the repertory company of the National School of Drama, which was widely appreciated for its political content, visual idiom, content, and minimalism. This was followed by 'Gajab Kahani', based on 'The Elephant's Journey’ by Nobel laureate José Saramago|Jose Saramago. He then went on to direct his Marathi production of ‘Uney Purey Shahar Ek’ based on the English play, ‘Bendakaalu on Toast’ by Girish Karnad.
In 2015, his Hindostani production of ‘Main Hoon Yusuf aur ye hai Mera Bhai’ translated from Palestinian playwright, Amir Nizar Zuabi's English play, ‘I am Yusuf and this is my brother’, was noted and appreciated at numerous festivals around the country. It went on to win five awards at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards, including Best Play, Best Director, and Best Sound Design for Takalkar. Among other festivals, the play was invited for the 8th Theatre Olympics. In 2017, Takalkar directed ‘Chaheta’, another of Zuabi's plays, ‘Beloved’.
Takalkar directed two plays for Aadyam, an initiative of the Aditya Birla group. His Hindi rendition of 'Gajab Kahani' , was played in the black box, G5A, where the audience sat in the center on swivel chairs while the play was performed in 360 degrees around them. This received a lot of praise from the audience and critics alike. He then directed, 'Mosambi Narangi', a Hindi adaptation of Marie Jones' English play, 'Stones in his Pockets', in which two actors, Rajit Kapur and Ajeet Singh Palawat played more than 20 characters.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Takalkar directed a digital play, ‘The Colour of Loss’ based on Booker Prize winner, Han Kang’s ‘The White Book’. It is considered amongst the very first few experiments in Indian Theatre on a digital platform.
He has worked as Deputy stage manager and Assistant director to celebrated Director Tim Supple for his British Council commissioned Indo-UK theatre production of A midsummer night's dream’. He was a member of the Lincoln Centre directors lab in New York 2014. Takalkar was invited to the Performance and arts meet in Yokohama. He has written plays in English, ‘Pira Peri Pora’ inspired from William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's ‘Titus Andronicus|Titus’ in the Writer's Bloc workshop conducted by the Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court London and ‘Yellow Orange Sunshine' which was shortlisted for the Hindu Metroplus Award, 2008. He translated Marsha Norman’s English play 'night, Mother|‘Night, Mother’ into Hindi and a Marathi Stage Adaptation of Antoine De Saint- Exupery's ‘The Little Prince’.
=== Films ===
In 2012, Takalkar scripted, edited, and directed his debut feature film 'The Bright Day' in Hindi-English which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was in competition at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, and was showcased at the London Indian Film Festival, Vancouver South Asian film festival, Calgary International film festival, Indian film festival-The Hague. It won the Grand Jury Prize and Best Director at the South Asian International Film Festival.
In 2017, he scripted, edited, and directed his debut non-feature in Marathi-English, ‘Chirebandi’, on the life and works of celebrated Playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar which was commissioned by the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
In 2019 he went on to direct his debut Marathi feature film, ‘Medium Spicy’ for Landmarc Films starring Sai Tamhankar and Lalit Prabhakar. The film was slated to be released in June 2020, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, remains unreleased.
In 2021 he directed his next feature film in English, shot entirely on iPhone, ‘Occasional Reflection on the Contingencies of Life’ which remains in post-production and is delayed due to the pandemic.
He has edited over 20 feature films which include, ‘Cobalt Blue’, ‘Kaasav’, ‘Astu’, 'Badha', ‘Dithee’, ‘Chidiya’, ‘Nital’, 'Samhita' and others. He has edited episodes of numerous Television serials for various channels apart from short films, documentaries & Ad films.
He has acted in films like, ‘Godavari', 'Gho mala Asla hava’, ‘CRD’ 'Devrai' and a few other works in Theatre and television series. But, Takalkar maintains that he acts only for fun and that he lacks the conviction and hard work necessary for being an actor.
== Personal life ==
In 2000, he met Geetanjali Joshi, an actor during rehearsals of his play, ‘Yayati’. They married in 2005 but separated in 2007.
In 2011, he was diagnosed with Acute Bipolar Disorder and since has been quite vocal about it. 
== Accolades ==
* Homi Bhabha Fellow 2016-2018 
* Sangeet Natak Akademi - Ustaad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2017 
* Shankar Nag Theatre Award for the year 2015 
* Charles Wallace Scholar for the year 2009-2010 
* Grand jury prize for Best Director and Best Film for ‘The Bright Day’ at the New York South Asian Film Festival
* Aditya Vikram Birla Kalakiran Puraskar as a young achiever in the field of theatre 2010
* Sahitya Rangbhoomi Pratisthan Fellowship for the year 2007-2008
* Amrish Puri Award for contribution to the experimental stage – 2005
* Star Pravaha Ratna for Contribution to Experimental Theatre – 2015
* Maharashtra State Award for Best Play and Best direction Yayati (2001), Nanephek (2003), and Tu (2007)
* Best Play & Best Director at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards for 'Mein Huun Yusuf Aur Yeh Hai Mera Bhai' (2016) 
* Zee Gaurav Award Best Director for Matra Ratra (2008), Tu (2007), and Fridge Madhe Thevlela Prem (2006)
* Maharashtra Times Award Best Experimental Play for Chhotyashya Sutteet (2004)
* Kala Gaurav Puraskar Best Experimental Director – (2006)
* Zee Gaurav Award Best Supporting Actor Manomilan (2007)
* Shree Mama Varerkar Award Best Director for the play Tu (2007)
* V. Shantaram Award Best Editor Restaurant (2007)
* Zee Gaurav Award Best Editor Nital (2007) and Kasav (2017)
Category:1977 births
Category:Living people
Category:Indian theatre directors
Category:Marathi film directors
Category:Marathi screenwriters