Maharaj Krishen Raina (born 10 February 1948), popularly known as M. K. Raina, is an Indian theatre

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. Raina graduated from

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

in 1970 with the Best Actor award.

Early life

Maharaj Krishna Raina was born on 10 February 1948 in the city of

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

of the princely state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

, Union of India. Maharaj completed his college in

and then moved to NSD in Delhi on a state scholarship. Raina, born into a

Kashmiri Pandit The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the In ...

family, comes from a family background of doctors and engineers. His father was a political activist this influenced Raina into social activism.

Career and work

Theatre and drama

After graduating from the

in 1970, Raina commenced on his work in Indian parallel cinema ''

27 Down ''27 Down'' is a 1974 Indian drama film directed by Awtar Krishna Kaul, starring Raakhee and M.K. Raina. The film is based on the Hindi novel ''Athara Sooraj Ke Paudhe'', by Ramesh Bakshi, about a railways employee who meets a girl on the trai ...

'', in which he also plays the lead role of "Sanjay". He has produced over 150 plays in 12 languages. As an actor, he has worked in more than a hundred plays. He has directed several memorable productions like ''Kabira Khada Bazar Mein'', ''Karmawali'', ''Pari Kukh'', ''Kabhi Na Chooden Khet'' and The Mother, ''Bhanbhatt Ki Atmakatha, Godan, Muavze, Tum Saadat Hasan Manto Ho, Badshah Pather, Stay Yet A While, Baaki Itihaas, Hiroshima, Hatya Ek Aakar Ki, The Great Trial.'' His production encompass the works of Sanskrit classic plays, folk theatre and classic international playwrights like Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekov, Lorca, Brecht. '' Andha Yug'', which he directed, was performed in Berlin and the Festival of India in the USSR. He was a Fellow and also produced '' Jasma Odan'' at Hawaii University in 1986. His films as actor include ''27 Down'', ''Satah Se Uthta Aadmi'', ''Ek Ruka Hua Faisla'', ''Tamas'', ''Titli'', ''Genesis'', ''Tarang'', ''Ankur Maina aur Kabootar'', ''Taare Zameen Par'', ''Rab Ne Banadi Jodi, Aisha, Noor, Lakshya, Teen Aur Aadha, Exchange Offer (short).'' He has also acted in the acclaimed web series ''The Forgotten Army'' for Amazon Prime.

Cultural activist

Besides being a practising actor/director in theatre and media, he is known also as a cultural activist. Raina believes that culture is a counterpoint to the violence and terrorism around us.

Academia

He has been a visiting director at the

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Central University, IIT

and

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

among others. He was the Scholar in Residence at Jamia Milia Islamia. He was also Fellow at the Stanford University (USA).

Awards

He has received the Sanskriti Samman in 1980, the Sahitya Kala Parishad Award in 1981, Best Director of the year by West Bengal Government 1982 and the Best Director's award of Punjabi Akademi, Delhi in 1987. M. K. Raina received the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

award in 1995 and the Swarna Padak from the Govt. of

in 1996 for his contribution to Indian Theater. He was also awarded one of India's highest theatre awards, the B. V. Karanth award for lifetime achievement in 2007. The Delhi Government awarded him the Hindi Akademi Shikhar Samman in 18.

Filmography

* '' Tanaav'' (2022) * ''

Gangubai Kathiawadi ''Gangubai Kathiawadi'' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language biographical crime drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and produced by Bhansali and Jayantilal Gada. Based on the book '' Mafia Queens of Mumbai'' by S. Hussain Zaidi, it tells ...

'' (2022) * ''Prassthanam'' (2019) as Jaiprakash Kedar * ''Three and Half/Teen Aur Aadha'' (2018) as Old Man * '' Noor'' (2017) as Noor's father * ''

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

'' (2010) as Aisha's father * ''

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (), also known by its initialism as ''RNBDJ'', is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Aditya Chopra. It was produced by his father Yash Chopra under their production banner of Yash R ...

'' (2008) as Taani's father (Special Appearance) * ''

Taare Zameen Par ''Taare Zameen Par'' (), also known as ''Like Stars on Earth'' in English, is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by Aamir Khan. It stars Aamir Khan, with Darsheel Safary, Tanay Chheda, Vipin Sharma and Tisca Chopr ...

'' (2007) as Headmaster * '' Lakshya'' (2004) as Romi's father (Special Appearance) * ''

Main Azaad Hoon ''Main Azaad Hoon'' () is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language vigilante film adapted from the 1941 Frank Capra film, '' Meet John Doe'', by Javed Akhtar, about an opportunistic journalist who concocts a fictitious man in a fictitious article to boost ...

'' (1989) as Newspaper employee * ''

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

'' (1986) as The trader * ''

Ek Ruka Hua Faisla ''Ek Ruka Hua Faisla'' (English: ''A Pending Decision'') is a 1986 Indian Hindi-language legal drama film directed by Basu Chatterjee. It is a remake of the Golden Bear winning American motion picture '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957) directed by Sidney ...

'' (1986) as Juror #7 * '' New Delhi Times'' (1986) * ''Aghaat'' (1985) * ''Giddh: The Vulture'' (1984) as Masterji * ''Tarang'' (1984) as Abdul * ''Tasveer Apni Apni'' (1984) (TV) as Office Manager * '' Satah Se Uthata Aadmi'' (1980) as Keshav * ''

'' (1974) as Sanjay * '' Kasba'' (1991) as Kashinath

References

External links

An article on Raina
* * http://www.koausa.org/Artistes/MKRaina.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20070902175130/http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/M_K_Raina/1487214 * http://www.koausa.org/BhandPather/index.html *
Teen Aur Aadha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raina, M. K. 1948 births Indian male film actors Indian male television actors Indian male stage actors Indian theatre directors Kashmiri Pandits Living people Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Hindi theatre Male actors from Jammu and Kashmir Male actors in Hindi cinema People from Srinagar National School of Drama alumni 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Actors in Hindi theatre