Biography

One of the greatest contemporary theatre actor
Goutam Halder is an Indian theatre and film actor. He has appeared in more than 50 theatrical productions since 1981 across various troupes, and is the recipient of several accolades including a State Award of Best Production for Meghnad Badh Kabya in 1995, State Award as Best Director for Chile Kothar Sepai in 1997, Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Award by Government of Maharasthra in 2001 and Shyamal Sen Smriti Samman in 2013. He graduated from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara.
personal life
Halder was born on 9 December 1963 in, Bhatpara, West Bengal, India. He has a younger brother. He graduated from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara. He has been trained in Kathak at Padatik Dance Centre under Guru Vijay Shankar. He has also dedicatedly learnt Bharatnatyam in Kerala Kalamandalam under Guru Govindan Kutty and Thankamani Kutty. He has been learning Modern dance and Movement and Martial Arts under Guru Sudipta Kundu since 2000. He has also trained himself in Classical vocal music under Guru Ashis Chattopadhyay and Guru Prabir Datta since 1986.
After graduating from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara Goutam Halder followed his heart into theatrical pursuits where he started gaining tutelage in Nandikar’s Comprehensive Theatre Training, 1986-87 where he gained knowledge, experience and practice under stalwarts like Rudraprasad Sengupta(Guru), Shombhu Mitra (Theatre legend), Khaled Chowdhury (Acclaimed stage artist), Tapas Sen (renowned Lighting Designer), Martin Russell (Fools Theatre, New York) among others.
Meghnad Badh Kabya (1995), Nagar Kirtan (1997), Sojan Badiar Ghat (2003) among multiple others, under the banner of Nandikar. In 2009, he formed his own troupe Naye Natua which has also produced multiple successful plays. He is the President of the troupe.
He married Dyuti Ghosh Halder in 2010
Performing arts career
Goutam Halder’s varied interests in different genres of literature, discourses in science and technology set him apart. His interest in science helps him rationalize and logically explain the emotions he portrays of various complex characters. He portrays different literary characters using his own life experiences that make the portrayal realistic and relatable. This understanding of the finer nuances of human experience and emotion play a huge role in his prowess as a thespian. Goutam Halder is a socially aware actor which not only assists his work but also adds creating a social impact to his array of achievements. His consciousness about the societal ongoings makes him a responsible actor-someone who does art not only for art’s sake but also to create a better world. Goutam Halder’s moral conscience is what sets him apart. He creates impactful theatre that attempts to elevate every individual on emotional, social and moral grounds. His love for animals directly portrays his compassion and empathy for all life forms that can be visually gauged and emotionally felt through his portrayals of various characters. His adaptability to circumstances not only helps him as an actor but also as a teacher and demonstrator in interacting with students of various ages. Goutam Halder’s straightforward nature makes him face his problems head on rather than avoiding them, which enhances his work as an artist.
Lectures and Workshops
Goutam Halder has given lectures at Georgia University, Athens, Georgia, USA, Edinburgh Theatre Festival, Scotland and International Dance & Theatre Festival, Goteborg, Sweden. Halder has also conducted various theatre workshops such as Naye Natua’s Theatre Training Programme, Nandikar’s annual Theatre Training Programme for the Young, Nandikar’s Theatre-in-Education Programmes in Secondary Schools since 1989, Nandikar’s Project In Search of Children’s Theatre, Trainer at BLP for Murugappa Group of Industries, Chennai, Trainer cum Judge at British Council Theatre Festival among various others. He has also conducted various workshops at various others troupes all over India.





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