Mooru Chhote Plays

Abhinav Grover, an actor and Theatre Maker, is a graduate from Drama School Mumbai, 2015. Focused on acquiring more skills and knowledge, he went on to pursue training in Yakshagana at the Yakshagana Kendra Udupi under Guruji Sanjeev Suvarna for two years. Abhinav has also worked with theatre directors like Sunil Shanbag, Vikram Kapadia and Mahesh Dattani from Mumbai, Paul Goodwin from the UK and Renato Rocha from Brazil. He was awarded the Tendulkar-Dubey Theater Fellowship in the year 2019. As a creator he has worked on plays like Pinter’s The Caretaker, Karnad’s Tughlaq and Agni Aur Barkha, an adaptation of Beckett’s Godot, Raamji Aayenge, and Krishna Sandhaan’s Yakshagana. He currently lives in Udupi, working on advanced Yakshagana training, alongside a few web series in Mumbai. He is a part of Rocket Boys on Sony Liv and YRF’s Netflix web series The Railway Men as well an upcoming theatrical release Superboys of Malegaon.

Venumadhav Bhat is an alumnus of Manipal Institute of Communication. He intends to establish himself as a filmmaker in the Kannada Film Industry. In 2023, he starred in two feature films: #Mute, for which he was also the screenwriter, and Hostel Hudugaru Bekaggiddare, where he played the role of Swami. He has also worked in Bangalore as a Theatre Teacher in schools for three years. In addition to acting and directing plays in Bangalore, he has also acted in various advertisements, and is currently developing a new feature film.

Faisal Ahmed is a documentary filmmaker. He has been the Production Coordinator at Centre for Intercultural Studies and Dialogue, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. He has a BA in Media and Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication, Karnataka, and has previously worked as a reporter, sub-editor, screenwriter, and photographer at various newspapers. Ahmed speaks six Indian languages, apart from English.

Bhavya Bharadwaj is a physicist pursuing his PhD in Nuclear Structure study at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. He has been an active member of the college drama clubs since his undergraduate days at Manipal University, Jaipur. He graduated with a B.Tech in Mechatronics in 2020 and a Masters of Science in Photonics in 2022. The college clubs have and continue to provide him a space to experiment with his craftsmanship in acting, direction, writing, and every aspect of theatre making. On the professional front, he worked under Ravi Chaturvedi over the course of three plays, State vs Kalindi Patel (2017-2020), Janshatru (2018), and Guinea Pig (2018-2019).

Soumya Zacharia completed her Bachelor’s in Arts from Christ University, Bangalore and Masters in English from Manipal Centre for Humanities, MAHE. She is currently a PhD scholar at MIC, MAHE in Film and Cultural Studies. She is trained in piano and keyboard. Her interests include films, theatre, music, art and dance.

Trisha Shetty is a self-proclaimed nerd-novice who aspires to be a writer as an excuse to dive into her obscure interests in the name of research. She graduated from MGM College with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, History, and Economics. The realisation that some stories cannot be told through the written word alone drove her to filmmaking. After working on numerous short films and a web-series, fate landed her into the absurdist theatre of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, a joint directorial venture from our showrunners.

Kritika Verma is a student of the Integrated Program in Management at Manipal Centre for Business Practices. She is a part of MIT’s socio-theatrical society, ADA Dramatics, where she has done four stage plays and four street plays. She has some experience in acting and directing from school as well. Her primary interest lies in centre stage and specifically in script analysis: understanding the depth of a characters’ behaviours and portraying it on stage.

Shravan Baliga is a theatre artist and engineer. He began his journey with a diploma in theatre from Kalakul, a lone theatre repertory for Konkani. His training was further enriched by a three-month workshop with Christopher Ninasam. Baliga’s notable work includes his role in the acclaimed play Kendonians, which garnered numerous awards in Tulu and Kannada and was selected for the Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2022. He pursued a postgraduate degree in Theatre Making and Acting from Drama School Mumbai, where he honed his craft. Over the past six years, he has participated in around seven productions across five languages: Kannada, Tulu, English, Hindi, and Konkani. His diverse experience includes collaborations with esteemed professionals such as Sapan Saran of Tamasha Studios, Arun Kal of Little Earth Theatre, and Christopher Ninasam of Astitva.

Manmohan Pai first made his mark as a professional chef from where he eventually transitioned into a career in HR management. Art, however, has been a parallel calling. Be it on the stage, on the canvas or in the kitchen he prides in creating unique palette experiences.

Ravi Alevoor is interested in acting and performing arts. Although a beginner in theatre, he has experience working in short films and album songs. He is passionate about learning, improving his skills and gaining more experience in the field of theatre.

Atharv Mishra is a theatre lover, and has acted and participated in multiple plays and street plays and loves every aspect of a production: be it on the stage or off. He is also passionate about writing and reading poems, plays and stories.

Rajagopala Acharya M is a Software Engineer by day, and a writer and theatre artist by night. He has worked as an actor, writer and also an assistant director. Be it for the kitchen or for the heart he believes in total and complete immersive exploration.

Prathvi P Acharya holds an MSc in Psychology, bringing a deep understanding of human behaviour to her creative pursuits. She is a passionate Actor and Makeup Artist who thrives on expressing complex emotions and creativity through the performing arts. By blending her academic background with her artistic skills, she approaches character development and visual storytelling with a unique, insightful perspective. Outside of her professional and creative work, she finds peace and balance in gardening, a hobby that grounds her and fuels her artistic inspiration.

Subramanya Kini K, an SRK fan who did not learn how to say, “no”. The Stage Manager for  Punaha Theatre, he is known for his quality of work alongside a defiance of deadlines. He worked in the fourth largest logistics company in India for three years, bringing his communication skills and quick thinking to the backstage.