People Of Peepli Live

Aamir Khan's Peepli Live is making waves. Being featured in many International film forums and getting accolades, its time that we got acquainted with the actors of Peepli Live.

OMKAR DAS MANIKPURI - NATHA

Omkar Das Manikpuri belongs to the state of Chattisgarh, in Central India. He started his career as a performer in the local form of folk theatre called Nacha.

Performing often in makeshift and open air stages, he honed his skills as a singer, dancer, mimic and a stand-up comic. He then joined Naya Theatre as an actor. With them he has performed in India and abroad such timeless classics as Agra Bazaar, Charandas Chor and Sadak. Peepli Live is his first feature film.

RAGHUBIR YADAV - BUDHIA

Raghubir Yadav is one of India's leading arthouse actors and a highly gifted musician. At the age of 15 he ran away from home and joined the Parsi Theatre Company, Bombay. He later moved to Delhi, where he joined the National School of Drama (NSD).

In his stage career as an actor and singer he has performed in over 70 plays and about 2500 shows. Massey Sahib (1985) was his first feature film for which he won the Fipresci Critic's Award, Venice Film Festival, 1986, and the Best Actor Silver Peacock, IIFI, 1987.

MALAIKA SHENOY - NANDITA MALLIK

Malaika is a Mumbai-based model, actor, and voice-over artiste. She has anchored and hosted many programs on Indian television and has appeared in a number of advertisements. She won the Best Actress Abby at the 2003 Indian Advertising Awards for Toshiba.

SHALINI VATSA - DHANIYA

Shalini Vatsa holds an M. Phil degree in Political Science from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. As an actor she has worked with various acclaimed Indian theatre directors such as Habib Tanvir, Barry John, B.V. Karanth and has performed all over India and abroad.

NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI - RAKESH

Nawaz is a graduate from The National School of Drama, New Delhi, India. He did theatre for many years before he started working in films. He has worked with several acclaimed and award winning directors in India.

Peepli Live is his first lead role in a film. Hailing from a small town in Northern India, he was able to pitch the character nearly perfectly.

FARUKH JAFFER - AMMA

Farrukh Jaffer has been a radio actor, announcer, and film and television actor in a career that has spanned over 5 decades. She started her career at Lucknow, in Northern India, with radio plays and diversified into broadcasting, writing and compering radio programs.

VISHAL O SHARMA - KUMAR DEEPAK

Vishal is a Mumbai-based television and film actor who has appeared in a number of mainstream Hindi films. A self-trained actor, he was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and moved to Kota in Rajasthan.

Vishal's gift for improvisation proved very useful for his role of an ambitious and unscrupulous reporter in the film.