OMKAR DAS MANIKPURI - NATHAOmkar 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.
Three films that he has acted in have received Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film (Salaam Bombay, Lagaan and Water). He was the first actor to be cast in Peepli Live. He has also sung for the film.
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.
Her experience as a TV presenter came in very handy for this film where she appears as a star reporter and presenter. She is also a part of the vibrant English theatre movement in Mumbai. She has appeared in two independent feature films before Peepli Live.
Natha a poor farmer from Peepli village in the heart of rural India is about to lose his plot of land due to an unpaid government loan. A quick fix to the problem is the very same government's program that aids the families of indebted farmers who have committed suicide.
As a means of survival Farmer Natha can choose to die!!! His brother is happy to push him towards this unique 'honor' but Natha is reluctant. Local elections are around the corner and what might've been another unnoticed event turns into a 'cause celebré' with everyone wanting a piece of the action.
Political bigwigs, high-ranking bureaucrats, local henchmen and the ever-zealous media descend upon sleepy Peepli to stake their claim. The question on everyone's lips - “Will he or Won't he?” As the mania escalates what will be the fate of Farmer Natha; nobody seems to care how he really feels?
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. She also trained with Barry John for Theater in Education and worked with children across sections of society including those with physical and learning disabilities, and still continues to do so. She is a full time member of Habib Tanvir's Naya Theatre repertory and essays leading roles in plays like Zahreeli Hawa, Charandas Chor and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Peepli Live is her first feature film.
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.
She has appeared in two feature films before Peepli Live. An Urdu scholar as well as an expert on proverbs, idioms and phrases of rustic speech, Ms. Jaffer proved to be a great asset for Amma's role. She was the final lead actor to be cast for the film and was selected after nearly a hundred auditions in many different cities.
VISHAL O SHARMA - KUMAR DEEPAK
Synopsis
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. Kumar Deepak in Peepli Live is his first major role in films.
Natha a poor farmer from Peepli village in the heart of rural India is about to lose his plot of land due to an unpaid government loan.
A quick fix to the problem is the very same government's program that aids the families of indebted farmers who have committed suicide. As a means of survival Farmer Natha can choose to die!!!
His brother is happy to push him towards this unique 'honor' but Natha is reluctant. Local elections are around the corner and what might've been another unnoticed event turns into a 'cause celebré' with everyone wanting a piece of the action. Political bigwigs, high-ranking bureaucrats, local henchmen and the ever-zealous media descend upon sleepy Peepli to stake their claim. The question on everyone's lips - “Will he or Won't he?” As the mania escalates what will be the fate of Farmer Natha; nobody seems to care how he really feels?
