Bollywood is full of veteran actors, established superstars, and fresh talent, but one thing that hasn’t changed in decades is how theatre world has given birth to some of the finest actors, who are now humongous success in Bollywood. Let’s recall the journey of some of these majestic Bollywood actors, who have their roots in the theatre world:
1. Anupam Kher
He’s played numerous roles in Bollywood and is a critically acclaimed actor but every once in a while when he feels like satisfying the artist in him, he steps on to the stage to relive his theatre days.
2. Irrfan Khan
Back in 1984, Irrfan bagged a scholarship at NSD and from there he relied on television and theatres to make ends meet. Irrfan, however, is far off from the Khan brigade and still wants to look for depth of content in a film and not commercial projects.
3. Shah Rukh Khan
He is the King Khan of Bollywood and one of the reasons why he is unmatchable is because he started his journey in the industry by learning everything there is to acting, from the theatre. SRK was a part of Theatre Action Group during his Delhi University days and he studied under the great Barry John himself!
4. Rajkummar Rao
During his days in Delhi University, Rajkummar worked actively with Shri Ram Centre and Kshitij Repertory, and today, the Shahid actor has definitely been recognized by Bollywood for all his hard-working and pure acting skills.
5. Kangana Ranaut
She made her debut with the movie Gangster but her acting roots lie in theatre too. Under the guidance of Arvind Gaur, she learned and acted in several of his plays like Taledanda (Girish Karnad-scripted) and has even portrayed a man when her male co-star went missing on one occasion!