Mita Vashisht
Encyclopedia
Mita Vashisht is an Indian television, film and theatre actress, who graduated from National School of Drama
(NSD), New Delhi in 1987.
, Maharashtra
, India to Rajeshwar Dutt Vasisht, a retired Colonel in the Indian Army and Meenakshi Mehta Vasisht, a teacher and musician. She is of Kumaoni
descent.
A post-graduate in literature from Punjab University, Chandigarh and a graduate from the National School of Drama
(Delhi) Vashisht is also visiting faculty to some of the premier design, film and theatre institutes of India - the NIFT (Delhi), FTII (Pune), NSD (Delhi) and the NID (Ahmedabad). She has also conducted theatre workshops in the UK (London, Birmingham, Leichester) and in Damascus
. She teaches students of fashion design, film direction and acting, using theatre techniques.
Apart from acting, Meeta is also actively involved in social work. She has worked with children in remand homes and with sex worker
s (she started a theatre troupe by enlisting 30 sex workers).
Meeta has written and produced three short films, as well as a serial for television. She has worked as executive producer on the award winning film The name of a River (A BFI (London)- NFDC (India)- Bangladesh film co-production).
In June 2001, Meeta established Mandala, space for arts collaborations research and education. Its aim was to spearhead a new movement in the arts, to centre stage and individuate the performing arts in society (she considers that imperative, in the face of an electronic media onslaught) and to aid artistic collaborations.
Her first project under Mandala however took an unusual twist. A chance theatre workshop that she conducted with trafficked minors in a remand home in Mumbai led to four years of her full time involvement with the cause of self- empowerment and rehabilitation of trafficked minors. (trafficked minors i.e. minor girls rescued from prostitution from the city brothels).
As artistic director of Mandala she created Mandala TAM (theatre arts module)--- a methodology and a training process based on the performing arts that proved to be highly successful in helping the trafficked minors to heal and transform mentally, physically, emotionally and intellectually.
Others
National School of Drama
National School of Drama is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India, established . It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and became an independent school in 1975...
(NSD), New Delhi in 1987.
Early life
Meeta Vasisht was born on November 2, 1967 in PunePune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India to Rajeshwar Dutt Vasisht, a retired Colonel in the Indian Army and Meenakshi Mehta Vasisht, a teacher and musician. She is of Kumaoni
Kumaoni
For the people of Kumaon see Kumauni PeopleThe Kumaoni are a people of the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand, a region in the Indian Himalayas...
descent.
A post-graduate in literature from Punjab University, Chandigarh and a graduate from the National School of Drama
National School of Drama
National School of Drama is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India, established . It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and became an independent school in 1975...
(Delhi) Vashisht is also visiting faculty to some of the premier design, film and theatre institutes of India - the NIFT (Delhi), FTII (Pune), NSD (Delhi) and the NID (Ahmedabad). She has also conducted theatre workshops in the UK (London, Birmingham, Leichester) and in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. She teaches students of fashion design, film direction and acting, using theatre techniques.
Career
Vashisht has worked in off-beat cinema as well as in commercial roles. She has worked in theatre and has written scripts as well. Since 2004, she has performed her solo play in English and Hindi, titled, Lal Ded, based on life of medieval Kashmiri mystic Lal Ded, all over India.Apart from acting, Meeta is also actively involved in social work. She has worked with children in remand homes and with sex worker
Sex worker
A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
s (she started a theatre troupe by enlisting 30 sex workers).
Meeta has written and produced three short films, as well as a serial for television. She has worked as executive producer on the award winning film The name of a River (A BFI (London)- NFDC (India)- Bangladesh film co-production).
In June 2001, Meeta established Mandala, space for arts collaborations research and education. Its aim was to spearhead a new movement in the arts, to centre stage and individuate the performing arts in society (she considers that imperative, in the face of an electronic media onslaught) and to aid artistic collaborations.
Her first project under Mandala however took an unusual twist. A chance theatre workshop that she conducted with trafficked minors in a remand home in Mumbai led to four years of her full time involvement with the cause of self- empowerment and rehabilitation of trafficked minors. (trafficked minors i.e. minor girls rescued from prostitution from the city brothels).
As artistic director of Mandala she created Mandala TAM (theatre arts module)--- a methodology and a training process based on the performing arts that proved to be highly successful in helping the trafficked minors to heal and transform mentally, physically, emotionally and intellectually.
Theatre
She has performed in the 75 minute solo theatre performance Lal Ded, based on the life and poetry of the iconic woman mystic and poet of Kashmir Lal Ded. Lal Ded performances have been invited to and featured in the following National/International theater festivals in India and abroad.- 2004: World Human Rights Day for the Ngo 'Akshara', Mumbai.
- 2005: The Hungry Heart Int. Theatre Festival, India Habitat Centre, Delhi.
- 2006: The Hungry Heart International theatre festival, Delhi.
- 2006: World theatre day, Pune. (Alliance Francaise)
- 2007: National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai
- 2008: Bharangam (the Int. theatre festival, NSD Delhi) commemorating NSD's golden jubilee year.
- 2008: International Sufi Festival of Performing Arts, Srinagar, Kashmir.
- 2008: National Theatre Festival, Dehradun
- 2008: World Performing Arts Festival, Lahore, Pakistan.
- 2009: North Zone Cultural Centre Festival, Chandigarh.
Film and television
She has also produced ad directed television programs and documentaries. She is working on She of the Four Names, commissioned by Public Services Broadcasting Trust, India. (PSBT) based on Lal Ded.Selected filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Director | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Var Var Vari | Nayika | Kumar Shahani | |
| 1989 | Siddheshwari | Siddheshwari | Mani Kaul | Best Documentary Film |
| 1989 | Jazeere | Asta | Govind Nihalani | |
| 1990 | Khayal Gatha | Rani Roopmati | Kumar Shahani | FIPRESCI Jury Award, Rotterdam |
| 1990 | Drishti Drishti Drishti is a multi-platform, open-source Volume Exploration and Presentation Tool. It was written for visualizing tomography data, electron-microscopy data and so forth. It aims to ease understanding of the data set and to assist with conveying that understanding to the research community or a... |
Prabha | Govind Nihalani | |
| 1990 | Kasba Kasba Kasba is a suburb of the city of Kolkata, India. It is situated in the southern part of the city encircled by the Sealdah South section of the Eastern Railways to the west, Dhakuria and Haltu to the south, the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass to the east and the locality of Tiljala to the... |
Tejo | ||
| 1991 | The Idiot | Nastassya | Mani Kaul | |
| 1994 | Tarpan | Ghost's daughter | K.Bikram singh | |
| 1994 | English August | Nri | Dev Benegal | |
| 1994 | Drohkaal | Sumitra | Govind Nihalani | |
| 1998 | Dil Se Dil Se Dil Se is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, and Preity Zinta. Mani Ratnam also co-wrote the screenplay for the film... |
Terrorist | Mani Ratnam | |
| 1998 | Zindagi Zindabad | Botanist | Sumitra Bhave | |
| 1998 | Ghulam | Fatima | Vikram Bhatt | |
| 1999 | Taal Taal (film) Taal is a 1999 Hindi film directed by Subhash Ghai. Taal was an official selection by Roger Ebert for his 2005 Overlooked Film Festival. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Aishwarya Rai, Amrish Puri and Alok Nath. It was also dubbed in Tamil as Thaalam... |
Prabha | Subhash Ghai | |
| 1999 | Snehidi (Tamil) | Cop | Priyadarshan | |
| 2001 | Maya | Maya's Aunt | Digvijay Singh | |
| 2001 | Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi | main villain | Rahul Rawail | |
| 2002 | Pitaah | Thakuraien | Mahesh Manjrekar | |
| 2003 | Patalghar (Bengali) | Begum | Abhijit Chaudhary | National Award, Best Cinematography |
| 2004 | Oops | Sharon/Sakshi | Deepak Tijori | |
| 2009 | Aladin Aladin (2009 film) - Reception :Zoom TV has given Aladin 2.5/5 saying that "Aladin fails to enchant". They have also criticized that Jacqueline has been put in the cast for the sake of an actress and she hasn't got much to do. However according to the scale 2.5/5 is an average. They have praised Amitabh Bachchan for... |
Karate Instructor | Sujoy Ghosh | |
| 2011 | Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge | Ma'am | Nupur Ashtana |
Others
- Featured in the main lead in Mann Ke Manjeere,
- Sung the vocals with Shubha Mudgal for the theme song Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. Producers; Yash Raj Films. 2007.
Television
| Year | Serial | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Space City Sigma | Ashok Talwar, Bizeth Bannerjee |
| 1989 | Discovery Of India | Shyam Benegal |
| 1989 | Mr Yogi | Ketan Mehta |
| 1993 | Pachpan Khambe Lal Deewarein | P.K. Mohanty |
| 1994 | Swabhimaan | Plus Channel |
| 1994 | Kirdaar | Gulzaar |
| 1997 | Ghum | Anup Singh |
| 1998 | Saalgiraah | Anup Singh |
| 1999 | Vijay Jyoti | Gajendra Singh |
| 2005 | Bombay Lawyers | NDTV |
| 2005-07 | Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki | Balaji Telefilms |
Film Jury Member
- 2005: OSIAN'S CINEFAN International Film Festival, Delhi. Jury member for Indian Feature Films.
- 2008: Tenth MAMI International Film Festival, Mumbai. Jury Member for Dimensions India (Documentary films).
- 2008: Mumbai Internataional Film Festival (MIFF) Jury member for Short films.
Awards
- 1996: Won, Star Screen Award, for Best Supporting Actress DrohkaalDrohkaalDrohkaal is a 1994 Indian film directed and produced by Govind Nihalani which deals with India's fight against terrorism. The film examines the mental and psychological trauma that honest police officers go through in their fight against a group of ruthless terrorists. This movie was remade into...
- 1990: Won, BFJA Awards Bengal Film Journalist Award, Best supporting Actress DrishtiDrishtiDrishti is a multi-platform, open-source Volume Exploration and Presentation Tool. It was written for visualizing tomography data, electron-microscopy data and so forth. It aims to ease understanding of the data set and to assist with conveying that understanding to the research community or a...
- 1992: Nominated, National Film Awards, Best Actress KasbaKasbaKasba is a suburb of the city of Kolkata, India. It is situated in the southern part of the city encircled by the Sealdah South section of the Eastern Railways to the west, Dhakuria and Haltu to the south, the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass to the east and the locality of Tiljala to the...
- 1999: Nominated, National Film Awards, Best Supporting Actress GhulamGhulamGhulam is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Vikram Bhatt and starring Aamir Khan. The film was inspired by Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront . It is the second remake of On the Waterfront after Kabzaa starring Sanjay Dutt...
- 2004: Nominated, National Film Awards, Best Actress OopsOOPS-Entertainment:* "Oops" an episode of the TV program Frasier* Oops!… I Did It Again, a 2000 album by Britney Spears** "Oops!… I Did It Again" , a song from the album* Ooops!, a 2002 British Children's Television show...