People

Some of the people behind Prayas

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  • Amit Ohdedar, the driving force behind Prayas, is an engineer by profession. He directed Charandas Chor; The Honest Thief and The Terrace. The latter was the eighth time he had   put on the director’s hat. “Literature, films and social history are my chief interests. Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray and Nelson Mandela have always remained top of the charts.”

  • Gaurav Bradoo

  • Gaurav Bradoo, is from Srinagar, and is an electrical and electronic engineer. “I have done drama through primary school to intermediate and in high school, but then I came into engineering and could not find any such opportunities to show my animated self on stage. Then came this chance to have lots of fun while doing something serious.

    Kanchan Bandyopadhyay

  • Kanchan Bandyopadhyay comes with something of an Australian accent, although he was born in Kolkata. Now teaching in Napier, the dramatic catch for him was the tabla and Tagore’s songs.

    Joy Chatterji

  • Kolkata son Joy Chatterji found himself playing the honest thief in Charandas Chor. “I look forward in actively being involved with Prayas and I would encourage anyone of you out there who has a passion for acting to get in touch with Prayas.”

    Sananda Chatterjee

  • Another from Kolkata – although she grew up in Delhi – is Sananda Chatterjee who studies marketing and film at Auckland University. A veteran of Prayas, she staged managed on The Terrace. Sananda co-directed Our Street and is partly scripting the new play.

    Rahul Gandhi

  • Rahul Gandhi, from Mumbai with Bangalore and Oman roots came via the Auckland Medical School where he is studying for a medical degree. “Theatre is a celebration of the moment – there are no cuts, retakes. Here and now. Immensely therapeutic – maybe I should prescribe a healthy dose to my patients.”

    Ujjal Ghosh

  • Ujjal Ghosh, Prayas’ treasurer, is an engineer. Also a member o f the Probasee Bengali Association, he had a big role in Charandas Chor.

  • Poona Prakash

  • Poorna Prakash, an Auckland media studies graduate, co wrote our new play, Khoj, the Search

  • Bhavnesh Soni

  • Engineering student Bhavnesh Soni hails from Mumbai and is founder and president of Club Indya, building a platform for Indian youth. “Let the director bring out the grey in you that makes life interesting and The Terrace has similar boundary-less emotions.”

    Sudeepta Vyas

  • Die hard Satyajit Ray fan Sudeepta Vyas, with Bengali origins found Blockhouse Bay a mild substitute for Bombay. Hence the need for drama… She has a writing and communications background and works for a prominent New Zealand charity. “Films are a passion; theatre – a discovery”.