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Mohit Ratnakar Takalkar (born 18 August 1977) is an Indian theatre director, filmmaker, film editor, screenwriter and actor from Pune, Maharashtra.[1] He has led and spawned a movement in Indian experimental theatre through his 25-year-long career by co-founding the theatre company, Aasakta Kalamanch in 2003.[2]

Mohit Ratnakar Takalkar
Born	(1977-08-18) 18 August 1977 (age 45) Kalyan, Maharashtra
Education	Graduation from Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai and Masters in Theatre Practice & Direction from the University of Exeter, UK
Occupation	Theatre Director, Filmmaker, Film Editor, Screenwriter, Actor and Restaurateur
Parents	Ratnakar Takalkar (father) Aparna Ratnakar Takalkar (mother)

Takalkar has directed several experimental plays in Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Marwari and English languages. He has directed movies including The Bright Day and Medium Spicy. He also runs his restaurant Barometer in Pune.[3]

In 2011, he was diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder and has been quite vocal about it.[1]

Career

He completed graduation from the Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai[4] 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.

Theatre

Takalkar started his theatre career with the Progressive Dramatic Association, Pune. He won the Maharashtra State Award for the Best Play and Best Director for Yayati and Nanephek and later for Tu (2007).[1]

In 2003, he co-founded Aasakta Kalamanch to extensively work in cutting-edge theatre, experimenting with language, form, content and presentation. His plays are known for minimalism in staging with a high level of technical excellence and a strong visual language.[5] Takalkar directed a flurry of plays for Aasakta repertory, which were mainly 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 experiments with his craft.[6]

He received the Charles Wallace scholarship which enabled him to pursue his Masters 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 directed plays with large ensemble casts which include Comrade Kumbhakarna, written by Ramu Ramanathan, for the repertory company of the National School of Drama.[7]

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.[8][9]

In 2015, He directed the 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.[10][11] It went on to win five awards at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards, including Best Play and Best Director. In 2017, Takalkar directed Chaheta in Urdu, based on another of Zuabi's plays, The Beloved.[12] For Aadyam, Takalkar 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.[13]

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.[14] When the theatres re-opened after the pandemic, he devised a multilingual theatre piece, Hunkaro which is based on the story Asha Amar Dhan by Vijaydan Detha.[15]

Films

• The Bright Day (2012)
• Chirebandi (2017)
• Medium Spicy (2022)

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.[16][17][18] 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.[19][20][21] It won the Grand Jury Prize and Best Director at the South Asian International Film Festival. The film stars Sarang Sathaye, Radhika Apte, Rajit Kapur, Shernaz Patel and Mohan Agashe.[22]

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.[23][24]

In 2019 he went on to direct his debut Marathi feature film, Medium Spicy for Landmarc Films starring Sai Tamhankar, Parna Pethe and Lalit Prabhakar. The film released three years later in June 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] The film was screened at Norway Bollywood Film Festival, Pune International Film Festival, Dhaka International Film Festival, River to River Florence Indian Film Festival and the Stuttgart Indian Film Festival.[26]

Takalkar has edited over 20 feature films which include, Cobalt Blue, Soyarik, Kaasav, Astu, Badha, Dithee, Chidiya, Nital, Samhita among others [27][28]

He has played minor roles in the films like, Godavari, Gho Mala Asla Hava, CRD, Devrai. However, Takalkar maintains that he acts only for fun and that he lacks the conviction and hard work necessary for being an actor.[29]

Accolades

• Homi Bhabha Fellow 2016–2018[30]
• Shankar Nag Theatre Award for the year 2015[31]
• Best Director at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards for Mein Huun Yusuf Aur Yeh Hai Mera Bhai (2016)
• Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar
• Grand jury prize for Best Director and Best Film for The Bright Day at the New York South Asian Film Festival[19]
• Charles Wallace Scholar 2009-2010

References

External links

• Mohit Takalkar at IMDb

This article needs additional or more specific categories. (June 2021)

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