Uttara Baokar
Encyclopedia
Uttara Baokar is an India
n stage
actor, who also acts in both on films and television. An alumna of National School of Drama
, she remained lead actress with the NSD Repertory Company in the 1970s and '80s, a period which saw the revival of Hindi theatre
in Delhi
, before moving to television and films in late 1980s.
She won the 1989 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
for Mrinal Sen
's film Ek Din Achanak
. On television, she is most known for the role of Jassi's Bebe in the TV series Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin
(2003–2006).
(NSD), Delhi, under Ebrahim Alkazi
, passing out in 1968.
and Manohar Singh
(NSD 1971 batch), who later remained company's head as well. Most notably during this period were lead roles like Padmavati in Mukyhamantri, the Mena in Mena Gurjari, the Desdemona
in Shakespeare's Othello
, the mother in playwright Girish Karnad
's Tughlaq, the nautch girl in Chhote Saiyad Bade Saiyad, the lead role of Umrao in "Umrao Jaan". She also worked in Shanta Gandhi
's noted production of the Bhavai
-based musical Jasma Odhan in 1968, with Manohar Singh
, the play, resurrected the Bhavai
folk theatre from Gujarat, ran successfully in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi for many years, and has since become an integral part of Bhavai repertoire.
In 1976, she appeared on debut theatre production of her batch mate at NSD, and later the head of NSD, Amal Allana
, the play was playwright Mohan Rakesh
’s Adhe Adhure, where she again acted alongside Surekha Sikri, and Manohar Singh.
In 1978, still with the Repertory Company she also directed, Jaywant Dalvi
's play Sandhya Chhaya, in Hindi translation by Kusum Kumar, with Manohar Singh and Surekha Sikri in the lead roles, which as a later review put it, "overwhelmed the audience emotionally with its tragic intensity.", and in the following year, she acted as Lady Macbeth
in Barnam Vana, Hindi version of Shakespeare's Macbeth
, directed by B.V. Karanth, where K. K. Raina
played the lead role of Macbeth
. She won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
, given by Sangeet Natak Akademi
, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, for Acting (Hindi theatre) in 1984.
She acted in Govind Nihalani
's epic four-part mini TV series, set in the partition of India
, Tamas (1987), as a Hindu refugee. Thereafter she moved to Mumbai in the 1990s with early TV series like Kavita Choudhary, Udaan (TV series)
(1990–1991) on DD National
channel, and went on to act in several art films, with director's Govind Nihalani
and Shyam Benegal
, most notably Mrinal Sen's Ek Din Achanak
and Shyam Benegal's Sardari Begum
.
She has also appeared in Marathi films like, Uttarayan (2005), and Restaurant (2006) with Sonali Kulkarani.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n stage
Theatre in India
The earliest form of the theatre of India was the Sanskrit theatre. It began after the development of Greek and Roman theatre and before the development of theatre in other parts of Asia...
actor, who also acts in both on films and television. An alumna of 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...
, she remained lead actress with the NSD Repertory Company in the 1970s and '80s, a period which saw the revival of Hindi theatre
Hindi theatre
Hindi theatre primarily refers to theatre performed in the Hindi language, including dialects such as Khari boli and Hindustani. Hindi theatre is produced mainly in North India, and some parts of West India and Central India, which include Mumbai and Bhopal...
in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, before moving to television and films in late 1980s.
She won the 1989 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress winners:...
for Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
's film Ek Din Achanak
Ek Din Achanak
Ek Din Achanak is a 1989 art film directed by Mrinal Sen, based on a Bengali novel, Beej by Ramapada Chowdhury..- Synopsis :...
. On television, she is most known for the role of Jassi's Bebe in the TV series Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin
Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin
Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin was a popular show on Sony Entertainment Television. The series was an Indian-themed version of the Colombian drama Yo Soy Betty La Fea .-Plot:...
(2003–2006).
Early life and education
She studied acting at National School of DramaNational 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), Delhi, under Ebrahim Alkazi
Ebrahim Alkazi
Ebrahim Alkazi is one of the most influential Indian theatre directors and Drama teachers in 20th century Indian theatre. He also remained the Director of National School of Drama, New Delhi He has also been a noted art connoisseur, collector and gallery owner, and found Art Heritage Gallery in...
, passing out in 1968.
Career
After passing out of NSD, she joined the NSD Repertory Company, and soon established herself as a lead actress. In the coming two decades, she acted in several notable plays as a part of the lead trio of repertory company, which included her fellow NSD classmate Surekha SikriSurekha Sikri
Surekha Sikri or Surekha Sikri Rege is Indian film, theatre and TV actor. She has won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress twice, for her role in Tamas in 1988 and for Mammo in 1995.-Early life and background:...
and Manohar Singh
Manohar Singh
Manohar Singh was a distinguished Indian theatre actor-director and a character actor in Hindi films. He is best known for his performances in films such as Party and Daddy...
(NSD 1971 batch), who later remained company's head as well. Most notably during this period were lead roles like Padmavati in Mukyhamantri, the Mena in Mena Gurjari, the Desdemona
Desdemona
Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello.Desdemona may also refer to:People* Desdemona , a soprano role in the 1816 opera Otello by Gioachino Rossini...
in Shakespeare's Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, the mother in playwright Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad
Girish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language...
's Tughlaq, the nautch girl in Chhote Saiyad Bade Saiyad, the lead role of Umrao in "Umrao Jaan". She also worked in Shanta Gandhi
Shanta Gandhi
Shanta Gandhi was an Indian theatre director, dancer and playwright. She was a founder-member of the central ballet troupe of the Indian People's Theatre Association , and toured the country widely through the 1950s...
's noted production of the Bhavai
Bhavai
Bhavai is a popular folk theatre form of Gujarat. Jasma Odan based on Gujarati folk tale, wriiten and directed by Shanta Gandhi and Mena Gujari produced by Deena Gandhi are some of most popular Bhavai musicals..-History:...
-based musical Jasma Odhan in 1968, with Manohar Singh
Manohar Singh
Manohar Singh was a distinguished Indian theatre actor-director and a character actor in Hindi films. He is best known for his performances in films such as Party and Daddy...
, the play, resurrected the Bhavai
Bhavai
Bhavai is a popular folk theatre form of Gujarat. Jasma Odan based on Gujarati folk tale, wriiten and directed by Shanta Gandhi and Mena Gujari produced by Deena Gandhi are some of most popular Bhavai musicals..-History:...
folk theatre from Gujarat, ran successfully in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi for many years, and has since become an integral part of Bhavai repertoire.
In 1976, she appeared on debut theatre production of her batch mate at NSD, and later the head of NSD, Amal Allana
Amal Allana
Amal Allana is an Indian theatre director, scenic designer and costume designer and presently she is in her second consecutive term as the Chairperson of National School of Drama, India's premier institute of Theatre training, she also runs the Dramatic Art and Design Academy , New Delhi, with her...
, the play was playwright Mohan Rakesh
Mohan Rakesh
Mohan Rakesh was one of the pioneers of the Nai Kahani literary movement of the Hindi literature in the 1950s. He wrote the first modern Hindi play, Ashadh Ka Ek Din , which won a competition organized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi...
’s Adhe Adhure, where she again acted alongside Surekha Sikri, and Manohar Singh.
In 1978, still with the Repertory Company she also directed, Jaywant Dalvi
Jaywant Dalvi
Jaywant Dalvi was a prominent contemporary Marathi writer in Maharashtra, India. Originally hailing from Sawantwadi in Maharashtra he was born in a Gaur Saraswat Brahmin family....
's play Sandhya Chhaya, in Hindi translation by Kusum Kumar, with Manohar Singh and Surekha Sikri in the lead roles, which as a later review put it, "overwhelmed the audience emotionally with its tragic intensity.", and in the following year, she acted as Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth may refer to:*Lady Macbeth, from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth**Queen Gruoch of Scotland, the real-life Queen on whom Shakespeare based the character...
in Barnam Vana, Hindi version of Shakespeare's Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, directed by B.V. Karanth, where K. K. Raina
K. K. Raina
K. K. Raina is an Indian film, television and theatre character actor, and award-winning script writer, who is best known for his roles as Juror #8 in the 1986 film Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, a remake of 12 Angry Men, and the Dr. Watson-like side-kick Ajit in the 1993 Doordarshan detective series Byomkesh...
played the lead role of Macbeth
Macbeth (character)
Macbeth is the title character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth . The character is based on the historical king Macbeth of Scotland, and is derived largely from the account in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of Britain. Macbeth is a Scottish noble and a valiant military man. He is portrayed...
. She won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
, given by Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.-History:...
, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, for Acting (Hindi theatre) in 1984.
She acted in Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :...
's epic four-part mini TV series, set in the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, Tamas (1987), as a Hindu refugee. Thereafter she moved to Mumbai in the 1990s with early TV series like Kavita Choudhary, Udaan (TV series)
Udaan (TV series)
Udaan was the name of a popular Hindi TV serial that aired on the Indian Television channel DD National in 1989 - 91. The serial was written and directed by Kavita Choudhary who was also the main lead of the serial. It also starred Shekhar Kapur in a cameo. It was probably the first Indian...
(1990–1991) on DD National
DD National
DD National or DD1 is Doordarshan's flagship channel and the most widely available terrestrial television channel in India.-The Early Years:...
channel, and went on to act in several art films, with director's Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :...
and Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal is a prolific Indian director and screenwriter. With his first four feature films Ankur , Nishant Manthan and Bhumika he created a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India although he himself has expressed dislike in the term preferring his work to...
, most notably Mrinal Sen's Ek Din Achanak
Ek Din Achanak
Ek Din Achanak is a 1989 art film directed by Mrinal Sen, based on a Bengali novel, Beej by Ramapada Chowdhury..- Synopsis :...
and Shyam Benegal's Sardari Begum
Sardari Begum
Sardari Begum is a 1996 Hindi movie directed by Shyam Benegal. The film stars Kiron Kher, Amrish Puri and Rajit Kapur and Rajeshwari Sachdev....
.
She has also appeared in Marathi films like, Uttarayan (2005), and Restaurant (2006) with Sonali Kulkarani.
Filmography
- Tamas (1987)
- Ek Din AchanakEk Din AchanakEk Din Achanak is a 1989 art film directed by Mrinal Sen, based on a Bengali novel, Beej by Ramapada Chowdhury..- Synopsis :...
(1989) - UdaanUdaan (TV series)Udaan was the name of a popular Hindi TV serial that aired on the Indian Television channel DD National in 1989 - 91. The serial was written and directed by Kavita Choudhary who was also the main lead of the serial. It also starred Shekhar Kapur in a cameo. It was probably the first Indian...
(TV series) (1990–1991) - Rukmavati Ki Haveli (1991)
- The Burning Season (1993)
- Doghi (1995)
- Sardari BegumSardari BegumSardari Begum is a 1996 Hindi movie directed by Shyam Benegal. The film stars Kiron Kher, Amrish Puri and Rajit Kapur and Rajeshwari Sachdev....
(1996) - ThakshakThakshakThakshak is a 1999 action-drama Hindi film written and directed by director Govind Nihalani. Touted as Nihalani's attempt at popular cinema, this film starred Ajay Devgan, Tabu and Rahul Bose in the lead roles. The soundtrack was composed by A. R...
(1999) - Zindagi Zindabad (2000)
- Kora Kaagaz (2002)
- Nazarana (2002) (TV series)
- Jassi Jaissi Koi NahinJassi Jaissi Koi NahinJassi Jaissi Koi Nahin was a popular show on Sony Entertainment Television. The series was an Indian-themed version of the Colombian drama Yo Soy Betty La Fea .-Plot:...
(TV series) (2003–2006) - Kashmakash Zindagi KiKashmakash Zindagi KiKashmakash Zindagi Ki is an Indian TV series produced by Reasonable Advertising Limited, based on the story of an adopted girl who is hated by everyone in her new family except her father. The story portrays the sour relationships in a family...
(TV series) (2006–2009) - RishteyRishtey (TV series)Rishtey was a television series that aired on Zee TV channel, featuring small stories of human relationships. The show highlights the essence of life and brings to the forefront, the various aspects of human relationships, such as husbands & wives, lovers, parents & children, friends & siblings in...
(TV series) (Season 2) - Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006)
- DorDor (film)Dor is a 2006 Indian drama film written and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor and features Ayesha Takia, Gul Panag and Shreyas Talpade as the lead actors. The film, which is a remake of the Malayalam film, Perumazhakkalam , was well received by the critics after its release on 22 September 2006...
(2006) - Aaja NachleAaja NachleThe film's soundtrack was released on 18 October 2007 composed by Salim-Sulaiman and lyrics by Jaideep Sahni and Piyush Mishra. A few songs from the final sequence of the movie have not been included on the soundtrack including "Yeh Ishq"....
(2007) - 8 x 10 Tasveer (2009)
Awards
- 1989: National Film Award: Best Supporting ActressNational Film Award for Best Supporting ActressThe National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress winners:...
: Ek Din AchanakEk Din AchanakEk Din Achanak is a 1989 art film directed by Mrinal Sen, based on a Bengali novel, Beej by Ramapada Chowdhury..- Synopsis :... - 1984: Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
: Acting (Hindi theatre)