Drama School Mumbai

Drama School Mumbai was founded in 2013 to forge a new generation of theatre-makers; actor-creator-entrepreneurs who are professionally trained to perform and create work to a higher global standard of storytelling. Our alumni are all highly active – founding theatre groups, acting in award-winning plays, working in films as well as applying their craft in education and corporate-training.

We work with a faculty comprising of the best theatre practitioners, actors, playwrights, directors, theatre designers and producers.

Armed with fundamental skills in performance, direction and producing, our graduates embark on making their own livings and careers in the theatrical arts, contributing to a gradual development of the sector with work that aims to be of a higher standard for all audiences.

Drama School Mumbai also works to promote the awareness of theatre and its processes to a wider audience interested in exploring and understanding the medium for themselves through shorter workshops, lectures, and regular presentations of work created by the students and faculty.

A Note From the Head of School

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. – Warren Bennis, American scholar

We are going through a time of tremendous flux. Whether it is the rapidly fluctuating economic landscape or the burgeoning rhetoric of discrimination and difference, we find ourselves asking fundamental questions about what drives our art. As a school, we hope we can further this dialogue: to ask why we are telling the stories we’re choosing to tell; to question the traditions we have been taking for granted; to figure out what kind of theatre belongs to our time.

Theatre education comes with a lot of opportunities, and at DSM, we like to focus on:

1. Pursuing excellence in everything we do, while learning, unlearning and relearning. 

2. Imparting quality education through various programmes 

3. Producing actors, creators and entrepreneurs 

4. Providing a safe and brave space to one and all 

5. Creating an environment which balances work and life.

One of the things that makes the DSM an exciting institution to join is that it is not stuck in its ways. It feels like an ever-growing, ever-adapting organism. In the past, the DSM has been asked about its focus. Whether it is a school that primarily focuses on training actors and whether the theatre-making aspect of the training is as involved. Over time, that has been shifting. The DSM is becoming a fertile testing ground for students to make rigorous, experimental and provocative work. We hope to take this further.  

Our motto here is to aid each one to become creative and a great storyteller which further enables them to lead their life independently such that they will be able to face any kind of difficulty coming their way.

With the help of the entire team, we hope we can drive the pedagogy towards a more holistic and multidisciplinary approach. To not only build competence and skill but to also facilitate the process of discovering students’ artistic voices. To prepare them to participate vigorously and generously in a global community of the performing arts.

With this in mind, we would like to invite each and everyone with open hands, to come and take this opportunity and be a part of this revolution, where we can enkindle one and all towards learning theatre, and also embrace every individual who aspires to bring change in the society through their imagination and storytelling.

– Irawati Karnik (Academic Head)

Board

• Bhavna Thakur

  Bhavna Thakur has had a successful year of career in corporate finance. She started off as an M&A and capital markets lawyer at Davis Polk and Wardwell, New York and then Paul, Weiss, London.

  She has worked as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong and India. More recently she was the Head of Equity – Capital Markets Origination at Citi Group, India. She has taken public companies like Just Dial, Coal India, and LT Finance, with massive success. She has deep experience working with senior management teams, PE & VC groups & Government institutions.

  Her core experience and ongoing interests lie in emerging markets, technology, finance and seeding women high-growth entrepreneurs. She has also been an angel investor with Indian Angel Network, Mumbai.

  Bhavna is a theatre enthusiast and used to run a non-profit theatre company called Alter Ego in New York that staged Off-Off Broadway shows between 2002 and 2007.

• Faranaaz G. Kharbari

  MS. FARANAAZ. G. KARBHARI is an Arts Graduate from the University
  of Bombay. She has done her Post Graduation in law from the University of Bombay. She is an Advocate of the Bombay High Court. She is also a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales. Ms. Karbhari was a Senior Legal Associate in one of India’s leading law firms Messrs Crawford Bayley & Co, Mumbai for 13 years. She was Associate Vice President (Litigation) – Vodafone India Limited for 2 years.

  Ms. Karbhari has good coordination with numerous Law firms / Law professionals all over the country, foreign banks including some of India’s leading Private Sector Banks, Indian Companies, Multinational Corporates and Entertainment studios.

  During her practice as an Advocate and as AVP (Litigation), Ms. Karbhari
  has primarily attended to contentious matters in various forums including the Supreme Court of India, High Courts in various States,
  Bombay City Civil Court, the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, National Company Law Tribunal, the Debt Recovery Tribunal, the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal, the Consumer Court and Arbitral
  Tribunals.

  Ms. Karbhari specializes in Tax Laws – Litigation & Advisory (Customs Act, Central Excise Act, Service Tax, GST, Anti – Dumping & safeguard Duties etc), Criminal Laws, Litigation & International Commercial
  Arbitrations, IBC, and has also done work in Media & Entertainment laws (Movies and Tele Serials projects), Hotel Industries, Intellectual
  Property Rights, Public Premises Act, Real Estate (lease, License, Sale and Redevelopment,, Title certificates and search reports) Banking and Financial Laws, International Business Laws, Corporate and Commercial law, foreign collaboration and joint ventures, Mergers, acquisitions, takeovers and corporate restructuring, Exchange control law and
  regulations.

  Ms. Karbhari has also successfully, entered appearance and represented
  law firms / Legal professionals from out of Mumbai who have no offices in Mumbai.

  Ms. Karbhari had been a partner with Res Legal for a period of 5 years and was AVP- Litigation, at Vodafone India Limited, for a period of two years heading tax and criminal litigation nationally for Vodafone and is now a Sole Proprietor of Alpha Chambers a full service law firm and Off Counsel at Hemant Sahai and Associates, Mumbai heading Disputes litigation and Tax.

  Ms. Karbhari has conducted corporate training in Sexual Harassment at the workplace, Data Protection, Digital Marketing, and legal compliances since 2009. She has regularly judged Moot Courts in Law Colleges across
  the Country and has judged public speaking competitions at various college festivals. Workshops at Law Colleges for interview training and
  internships & career guidance.

• Jehan Manekshaw

  Jehan Manekshaw is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Theatre Professionals Eduction. He is also a Co-Founder and Head of School at Drama School Mumbai.

  For Theatre Professionals, Jehan has co-designed and developed strategic Drama-in-Education programmes for schools. Jehan also oversees multiple workshops and residencies for drama specialists and drama educators to advance the practice of applied drama.

  He has taught as guest faculty at Ninasam Theatre Institute, Karnataka, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Shinshu University, Japan, and National School of Drama’s T.I.E division in Agartala.

  He also has directed numerous plays in different languages in India, the US, UK, and Japan. As Head of the Drama School Mumbai, Jehan leads pedagogy and course design for the faculty and guest faculty team.

  Jehan is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for his work towards the advancement of the practice of theatre in India.

• Tasneem Fatehi-Luktuke

  Tasneem Fatehi is a prominent figure in the field of theatre education in India, co-founding Theatre Professionals in 2008 with Jehan Manekshaw. Her work primarily focuses on utilizing drama as a transformative educational tool. Fatehi holds a graduate degree in English Literature from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and furthered her qualifications with an Associate from the Trinity College London, specializing in Speech & Drama and Performance.

  Fatehi’s career in theatre education spans over two decades, during which she has developed and directed numerous programs that integrate drama into educational curricula
  across various schools in India. Her approach not only helps in teaching academic subjects like spoken English, particularly in regional language schools but also fosters social and emotional learning among students.

  Before her role at Theatre Professionals, Fatehi managed a Drama Institute for children, where she designed educational theatre programs and directed children’s plays. This experience equipped her with unique insights into the educational potential of theatre, particularly in enhancing communication skills and boosting confidence among young
  learners.

  At Theatre Professionals, she initially managed the professional Acting Workshop Programme and later took on the role of overseeing the entire Drama in Schools Programme. Her leadership extends to serving on the board of directors since the organization’s inception, steering it towards achieving its vision of a robust, professional theatre sector in India.

  Fatehi’s work emphasizes the importance of drama-based pedagogy and its application in educational settings, making significant contributions to both the theatre and education
  sectors. Her initiatives aim to make drama accessible and beneficial to a broad spectrum of learners, thereby enriching their educational experience and personal development.

• Tushar Pandey

  Tushar is an actor, director and teacher, practising performance since 2003. He was Inlaks Shivdasani International Scholar and specilizes in Lecoq’s Pedagogy.

  Tushar has presented his work in at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as in England, Greece, Dubai, China, and India. His film credits include several Hindi films including the critically acclaimed Pink, and Beyond Blue which premiered at Marche du Film (Cannes Film Festival, 2015).

  He received a special mention as Best Actor at a festival in Rome; December 2015. Tushar is also guest faculty at National School of Drama, Delhi

• Mini Bhatia

  Mini Bhatia is the Director and Founding Member of Aum Yash Kendra. Aum Yash Kendra is one of Mumbai’s leading Speech & Drama Institutes. It has been working tirelessly for the past twenty years to develop life skills with students through drama.

• Shirin Bharucha

  Shirin Bharucha is a senior lawyer and has worked with the legal department at Tata Group for many years. She is actively involved with various trusts that work for the urban renewal of Mumbai city. Most significantly, she was part of the team that restored Oval Maidan, the Horniman Circle Garden, and the Kala Ghoda Art District.

  She is managing trustee at the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI). UDRI which supports interaction between architects, urban designers, and professionals in urban economics, sociology, planning, conservation, and history.

Executive Team

Jehan Manekshaw

• Director

  Jehan Manekshaw is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Theatre Professionals Eduction. He is also a Co-Founder and Head of School at Drama School Mumbai.

  For Theatre Professionals, Jehan has co-designed and developed strategic Drama-in-Education programmes for schools. Jehan also oversees multiple workshops and residencies for drama specialists and drama educators to advance the practice of applied drama.

  He has taught as guest faculty at Ninasam Theatre Institute, Karnataka, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Shinshu University, Japan, and National School of Drama’s T.I.E division in Agartala.

  He also has directed numerous plays in different languages in India, the US, UK, and Japan. As Head of the Drama School Mumbai, Jehan leads pedagogy and course design for the faculty and guest faculty team. Jehan is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for his work towards the advancement of the practice of theatre in India.

Irawati Karnik

• Academic Head

  Irawati Karnik is a writer, playwright, screenwriter, translator, dramaturg and actor based out of Mumbai. She writes in Marathi, Hindi and English.

  Irawati began her theatre journey by working closely with the late Chetan Datar for the theatre group Awishkar, founded by the late Vijay Tendulkar. Since then, she has collaborated closely with several imminent theatre directors to create plays that have been performed across the country. An alumnus of Sir J.J. School of Fine Arts, Irawati has also worked towards Research and Documentation of Indian contemporary art. Her writing and translation features in books published by Bodhana Arts & Research Foundation. A number of her translations, both fiction and non-fiction, have been published by Oxford University Press. Irawati has won several awards for her work including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar in 2009, Best Original Script awards at the Mahindra Excellence in Theater Awards, and The Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad Award among many others.

  Irawati’s recent film ‘Anandi Gopal’ won the National Award for Best Film on Social Issues in 2021.

Prachi Koppikar

• Deputy General Manager

  Prachi has a Graduate degree in Commerce from Valia College of Arts and Commerce, Mumbai. She has worked in placement and operations departments for companies like Wipro Infotech, Onicra and Scrabble Entertainment. Ltd.

  She has been a part of the Theatre Professionals family since 2016.

Maneesh Verma

• Special Projects Director (Ekalavya)

  National School of Drama | Founder, Creative Director & Producer at Collective Madness Studios.
  Maneesh has over 20 years of extensive theatre experience with 60 major theatre productions. For the last 12 years, he has been producing theatre in multiple genres like musicals, social drama, comedy & plays for children. Apart from being a professional actor, Maneesh is also a corporate trainer and regularly works with CSW Associates as a performance consultant on training projects for multi-national companies like Goldman Sachs, Apple, Deutsch Bank, Merrill Lynch, UBS, Microsoft, Barclays and others.

  Since 2007, Maneesh had worked in over a hundred productions, performing in Dubai, Japan, Hong Kong and America. Maneesh is also a self-taught website designer and developer and has been handling DSM’s branding for the past year. 

Shailesh Gupte

• Head of Student Recruitment and Operations

  With over 12 years of dynamic experience in the Edtech sector, Shailesh Gupte is a seasoned professional renowned for his expertise in formulating robust revenue generation strategies, adept problem-solving, and efficient operations management.

  Holding an MBA with dual specializations in Operations Research and Health Care Management, Shailesh brings a unique blend of statistical prowess and operational acumen to the forefront. His profound understanding of statistical methodologies enables him to dissect complex data, extract actionable insights, and drive informed decision-making processes, elevating organizational growth.

  Apart from transcending traditional managerial responsibilities, he is proficient in technology and AI-driven solutions and believes in a keen understanding of cutting-edge advancements. He leverages these innovations to revolutionize educational paradigms. Whether steering sales teams towards unparalleled success, orchestrating seamless admissions processes or facilitating impactful training programs tailored for all stakeholders, he believes in consistently delivering transformative outcomes.

  Driven by an unwavering commitment to excellence, he is distinguished by his exceptional execution skills and relentless pursuit of leveraging technology as a catalyst for educational triumph.

Phalguni Vittal Rao

• Communications Coordinator

  Phalguni Vittal Rao is an actor, writer/journalist and theatre-maker. She is currently the Communications Coordinator for DSM and the Librarian at Bhasha Centre’s The Drama Library. She has also worked with Firstpost, The New Indian Express and The Better India in the past. She holds a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (2016-17) and a BA in Theatre Studies, Communication and Media, and English (2013-16) from Christ University, Bangalore.

  Phalguni has been performing and writing about theatre since 2013. She has been a part of multiple productions such as Oliver!, Medea, As You Like It, and A Man For All Seasons to name a few. In 2020, she performed at Thespo-22 in The Ministry of Mundane Mysteries (directed by Sébastien Heins), an interactive audio-based experience done completely over the telephone. In 2021, she worked with Indian Ensemble as the production manager for A Zoom Call Re:Birds and performed in The Shakespeare Company of India’s Cymbeline (directed by Jemma Levy).

  Apart from theatre, Phalguni is an avid reader, an amateur self-taught pianist and a basketball player who aspires to create an empathetic world through her stories and performances. She continues to explore voicework and physical forms such as Kalaripayattu, yoga, dancing and sports, and looks forward to keep working on screen and stage.

Floyd Gonsalves

• Senior Course Manager

  Floyd Gonsalves has a graduate degree in Commerce from Mumbai University. He has worked with financial institutions like JP Morgan and American express.

  In the education sector, he has worked with Sinhals & Jamboree under the profile of Coordinator/Admission Counsellor. 

Manali Vadke

• Course Coordinator

  Manali has a graduate degree in Management and majored in finance. She also has a diploma in German Language from Mumbai University and Goethe Institute.

  She has also worked with ed-techs prior and helped in facilitating the students.
  She has recently developed interest in production and has also been a stage manager for one of the NFSAPG “BaapRe!” She is looking forward to her journey with DSM and theatre as she grows both in her personal and professional life.

Niyati Soni

• Course Coordinator

  Niyati’s journey to Drama School Mumbai showcases her commitment to cultivating creative expression. With a background in event management, she has honed her organizational and collaborative abilities, ensuring the smooth delivery of courses at DSM. Driven by her passion for education and guiding young minds, Niyati excels in coordinating curriculum, fostering faculty collaboration, and creating a vibrant, supportive learning atmosphere for students.

Sumitra Gurjar

• Executive Assistant

  Sumitra Gurjar is a versatile professional with expertise in finance, project management, and administrative support. With a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and proficiency in German, she brings a wealth of skills to her roles. In her current position as Executive Assistant at The Drama School Mumbai, Sumitra provides comprehensive administrative support to the school’s leadership team, managing schedules, events, and communication. Prior to this, she excelled as a Project Manager , overseeing successful events with her organizational prowess and creativity. Additionally, her experience as a Finance Assistant at DHL Logistics honed her ability to manage financial transactions with precision. Beyond her professional endeavors, Sumitra possesses deep knowledge of meditation, enriching her approach to life and work. She looks forward to contributing her diverse skills and passion for meditation to The Drama School Mumbai.