How Playing a Crow Role in College Unleashed My Inner Actor: Renuka Shahane

Becoming an actor was never really on my radar. I was always more of a studious kid. By the time I was in the eleventh grade, I had decided to study psychology in college. But life had other plans.

Growing up, our house was always buzzing with people from the theatre world. My mom was a well-known author and critic, so we often had guests who were deeply involved in it. One of our regular visitors was Pandit Satyadev Dubey Ji, a close friend of my mother. Whenever we met, he would ask, ‘Kya tum abhinay karogi?’ ‘Aur mera jawab hamesha na hota tha’.

But things changed in college. I joined the ‘Sangeet Mandal,’ our music club. In my second year, we had to perform in a play with fourteen songs. That’s when I noticed how exciting theatre was. Watching the actors rehearsing and seeing the whole process behind the scenes was mesmerising. So, the next time, Dubey Ji asked me, ‘Kyon? Theatre karogi?’ I happily replied, ‘Kyon nahi? Mai theatre zarur karungi.’

Soon, he gave me a small part in a play called ‘Bambai ke Kauwe,’ where I played a crow. It was a minor role, but it meant a lot as it was my first time on stage as an actor. During that performance, Rajeev Naik, a well-known Marathi author, was in the audience. He saw my potential and offered me a role as Desdemona in the Marathi translation of  "Othello" that was to be performed at the ‘Rajya Natya Spardha’. That’s when I got into theatre.

I joined the Antarnatya Theatre Group and threw myself into every task required to make a play successful. I continued my studies, but as my involvement in theatre grew, it became clear that my passion was pulling me in a different direction.

During the shoot of Circus, Aziz Uncle, impressed by my performance, advised me to ditch my plans for a PhD. and focus on acting instead. He knew that I had what it takes to succeed as an artist. I took his advice to heart, and my life has been exciting.

The latest highlight of my work is a short film called ‘Ek Kadam.’ The moment I read the script, I knew I had to be a part of it. The story is simple but compelling, touching on the lives of countless homemakers worldwide. The way Rajeev and the team brought this story to life is commendable. The film has already been selected for several film festivals and has won many awards. I highly recommend watching it with your family.

You can watch it on Humara Movie. It’s a film that might inspire you to take that important ‘Ek Kadam’ of your life.

We’re glad to partner with Humara Movie. They release a short film every week. And we feature the story of someone behind the film. After all, everyone has a story.

Delhi Stories is an emerging platform to feature inspirational, motivational, relatable and beautiful stories. Do you also have an interesting friendship story like Renuka Shahane?