Mita Vashisht

Early life

Mita Vashisht was born on 2 November 1967 in Pune, Maharashtra, India to Rajeshwar Dutt Vasisht, a retired Colonel in the Indian Army and Meenakshi Mehta Vasisht, a teacher and musician.

A post-graduate in literature from Punjab University, Chandigarh and a graduate from the National School of Drama (Delhi) in 1987, Vashisht is also visiting faculty to some of the premier design, film and theatre institutes of India – the NIFT (Delhi), FTII (Pune), NSD (Delhi) and the NID (Ahmedabad). She has also conducted theatre workshops in the UK (London, Birmingham, Leicester) and in Damascus. She teaches students of fashion design, film direction and acting, using theatre techniques.

Career

Vashisht has worked in off-beat cinema as well as in commercial roles. She has worked in theatre and has written scripts as well. Since 2004, she has performed her solo play in English and Hindi, titled, Lal Ded, based on life of medieval Kashmiri mystic Lal Ded, all over India.

Apart from acting, Vashisht is also actively involved in social work. She has worked with children in remand homes and with sex workers (she started a theatre troupe by enlisting 30 sex workers).

Vashisht has written and produced three short films, as well as a serial for television. She has worked as executive producer on the award winning film The Name of a River (A BFI (London)- NFDC (India)- Bangladesh film co-production).

In June 2001, Vashisht established Mandala, space for arts collaborations research and education. Its aim was to spearhead a new movement in the arts, to centre stage and individuate the performing arts in society (she considers that imperative, in the face of an electronic media onslaught) and to aid artistic collaborations.

Her first project under Mandala however took an unusual twist. A chance theatre workshop that she conducted with trafficked minors in a remand home in Mumbai led to four years of her full-time involvement with the cause of self- empowerment and rehabilitation of trafficked minors. (trafficked minors i.e. minor girls rescued from prostitution from the city brothels).

As artistic director of Mandala she created Mandala TAM (theatre arts module)--- a methodology and a training process based on the performing arts that proved to be highly successful in helping the trafficked minors to heal and transform mentally, physically, emotionally and intellectually.

Theatre

She has performed in the 75 minute solo theatre performance Lal Ded, based on the life and poetry of the iconic woman mystic and poet of Kashmir Lal Ded. Lal Ded performances have been invited to and featured in the following National/International theatre festivals in India and abroad.

Film and television

She has also produced ad directed television programs and documentaries. She is working on She of the Four Names, commissioned by Public Services Broadcasting Trust, India. (PSBT) based on Lal Ded.

Vashisht played a key role in Ekta Kapoor's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She played the role of the uptight principal on the show Suvreen Guggal on Channel V India and Akbar's evil stepmom in the serial, Jodha Akbar on Zee TV. She was highly appreciated by the audience for her negative portrayal of Jethi Maa from TV Series Kaala Teeka. However, after a new track was developed in the show, the character of Jethi Maa was ended within two months.

Selected filmography

Film Jury member

Awards