Team Group: Executive Committee

Ahilan (Ahi) Karunaharan is Prayas Theatre’s Artistic Director, and one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most accomplished South Asian theatre-makers. He is a New Zealand Arts … Read more

Tushar Kandari joined the Prayas Theatre committee in 2025, bringing his backstage and production experience into an operational leadership role. A versatile contributor, Tushar has … Read more

Sudeepta Vyas co-founded Prayas Theatre in 2005 alongside Amit Ohdedar, and has been the organisation’s operational backbone for two decades. Mumbai-born and Auckland-based, Sudeepta has … Read more

Amit Ohdedar co-founded Prayas Theatre in 2005, establishing what would become New Zealand’s first community theatre company performing South Asian plays in English. Originally from … Read more

Nona Shedde joined Prayas in 2012, drawn in after attending the company’s production of Kingdom of Cards (Tasher Desh) — a show that reignited a … Read more

Indiver (Indy) Nagpal joined the Prayas Theatre committee in 2025, taking on the Technology & AI portfolio. A technologist who writes about AI and emerging … Read more

Rishabh Kapoor has been an integral part of Prayas Theatre since 2015 and serves as the company’s Executive Director, overseeing production operations, company management, and … Read more

Namrata Mankame-Shanbag joined the Prayas Theatre committee in 2025, having been an active performer and contributor to the company for several years prior. Namrata has … Read more