Piyush Mishra (born as Priyakant Sharma; 13 January 1963) is an Indian actor, lyricist, playwright, musician and screenwriter.
Mishra grew up in
Gwalior
Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the ...
, and graduated from
National School of Drama, Delhi in 1986. Thereafter, he started his career in
Hindi theatre in Delhi. Over the next decade, he established himself as a theatre director, actor, lyricist and singer. He moved to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
in 2002, receiving acclaim for his acting in ''
Maqbool'' (2003) and ''
Gangs of Wasseypur
''Gangs of Wasseypur'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language two-part crime film produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. Centered on the coal mafia (Mafia Raj) of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggl ...
'' (2012).
As a film lyricist and singer, he is noted for his songs ''Arre Ruk Ja Re Bandeh'' in ''
Black Friday'', (2004), ''Aarambh Hai Prachand'' in ''
Gulaal'' (2009), ''Ik Bagal'' in ''
Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
'', (2012), and ''Husna'' in ''
MTV Coke Studio'', (2012).
[
]
Early life and background
Mishra was born on 13 January 1963 in a Brahmin family in Gwalior
Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the ...
to Pratap Kumar Sharma. He grew up as Priyakant Sharma and was adopted by his father's eldest sister Taradevi Mishra, who had no children. Later, his family moved into his aunt's house to ease financial burden. His parents admitted him to Carmel Convent School, Gwalior
The Carmel Convent Senior Secondary School in Gwalior
Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the ca ...
thinking that his education in a convent will help him excel in academics but it was activities like singing, painting and acting which appealed to him. Piyush later moved to Gwalior's JC Mills Higher Secondary School. However, living in the authoritative household of his aunt, developed a rebellious streak in him, which showed up in his first poem, ''Zinda ho haan tum koi shak nahin'' (Yes you are alive; of this there is no doubt), he wrote in class 8th. Later, while studying in class 10, he even filed an affidavit in the district court and changed his name to one his choice to Piyush Mishra.
Around this time, he began to be drawn to theatre – it was at places like Kala Mandir and Rangshri Little Ballet Troupe in Gwalior that his talent for the medium was first identified. In spite of the appreciation he was beginning to receive in the theatre circles, his family kept insisting he concentrate on his studies. He took the entrance test to the National School of Drama, New Delhi in 1983, not with any particular desire to study but to get out of Gwalior. Thereafter he moved to Delhi, and joined National School of Drama, graduating in 1986. While at NSD, he got a chance to compose his first music score for a student play, ''Mashreeki Hoor''. His acting breakthrough came in his second year at NSD, when German director, Fritz Bennewitz (1926–95), directed him in the title role in ''Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...
'' and introduced him to acting technique.
Career
Theater and television
After his graduation from NSD in 1986, Piyush Mishra started his career as a theatre actor in Delhi, and in 1990, helped start the theatre group Act One, with founder-director N. K. Sharma
N.K. Sharma is an Indian theatre director and acting teacher. Since 1978 he has been freelance theatre person, working all over India in many languages and with many traditional forms. Sharma has worked with Safdar Hashmi.
Early life and career
...
and stage actors like Manoj Bajpai, Gajraj Rao
Gajraj Rao is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi films. He is widely known for his performance in the comedy drama film '' Badhaai Ho'' for which he also won a Filmfare Award.
He debuted in 1994 with a minor role in Shekhar Kap ...
and Ashish Vidyarthi
Ashish Vidyarthi (born 19 June 1962) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Odia, Marathi and Bengali films. He is noted for his antagonist and character roles. In 1995, he received ...
. In the following years he wrote and directed several plays as a part of Act One Theatre Group, including the acclaimed play, ''Gagan Damama Bajiyo'' (The Sky Resounds with the Call to Arms), based on freedom fighter Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary*
* who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer
*
* in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian nationa ...
, which was first performed in 1994, and upon publishing, sold its first edition in just seven days. In 1996 he joined Asmita Theatre Group, and performed his popular one-man shows ''An Evening with Piyush Mishra''. He wrote the lyrics for Asmita's popular plays. Piyush acted as ''Maniac'' in operation three star (an adaptation of Dario Fo's play Accidental Death of an Anarchist). Piyush is also known for his performance in Swadesh Deepak
Swadesh Deepak (born 1943) is an Indian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. Deepak has been active on the Hindi literary scene since the mid-1960s and is best known for ''Court Martial,'' a 1991 play. Deepak's most recent book is ''Maine ...
's ''Court Martial'' as Suraj Singh, first with Ranjeet Kapoor (1991) and later under the direction of Arvind Gaur (1996).
By then, he had established himself as a theatre director and directed ''Comedy of Terror'' play for Shriram Centre Repertory Company, and also presented his solo act
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...
play at the National School of Drama's Annual Theatre Festival, Bharat Rang Mahotsav in 1999. Mishra briefly moved to Mumbai, as he acted in a television series, ''Rajdhani'' (1989), directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia
Tigmanshu Dhulia (born 3 July 1967) is an Indian film dialogue writer, director, actor, screenwriter, producer and casting director known for his works in Hindi cinema and Television. He wrote the dialogue for the 1998 film '' Dil Se..'', the ...
for Star TV, and Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received s ...
's '' Bharat Ek Khoj'' (1988) and horror TV serial ''Kile ka Rahasya'' (1989), though he returned to Delhi thereafter.
Films
Mishra made his debut as a film actor with Mani Ratnam
Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...
's '' Dil Se..'' in 1998, he portrayed as C.B.I Investigation Officer. though he continued to stay in Delhi to pursue theatre. His transition from playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
to screenwriter happened when he wrote the dialogues for Rajkumar Santoshi
Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. Having received several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the crime film '' Ghaya ...
's 2001 film '' The Legend of Bhagat Singh'', which was inspired in part by Mishra's critically acclaimed play on Bhagat Singh – ''Gagan Damama Bajyo''.[ It won him the ]Zee Cine Award
The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way".
They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...
for Best Dialogue (2003). Meanwhile, he moved to Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
in November 2002,[ where he went on to establish a career as a film lyricist, screenwriter and as an actor. He started writing lyrics with the film, '']Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar
''Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar!!'' () is a 2000 Indian comedy-drama film directed by Hansal Mehta, written by Saurabh Shukla and produced by Ajay Tuli, Anish and Hansal Mehta. It stars Manoj Bajpayee, Tabu, Saurabh Shukla and Aditya Srivastava in pivo ...
'' in 2002, and subsequently wrote for '' Black Friday'' (2004), ''Aaja Nachle
''Aaja Nachle'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language dance film produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Anil Mehta. The film stars Madhuri Dixit in her first film in five years after '' Devdas'' (2002), alongside Konkona Sen Sharma, Jugal Ha ...
'' and '' Tashan''.
Mishra won accolades for his performance as Kaka in Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bha ...
's 2003 film '' Maqbool'', an adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''. He wrote his own dialogues for his performance as Hafeez (Huffy) Bhai in '' Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'' (2007), and delivered them in poetry style.
Mishra again appeared in Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France aw ...
's 2009 movie '' Gulaal'', a movie based on Indian youth, politics, caste-prejudice, and other such social topics. He played Prithvi, the poet brother of Dukey Bana (played by Kay Kay Menon
Krishna Kumar Menon (born 2 October 1966), better known by the stage name Kay Kay Menon, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and also in Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi and Telugu cinema.
Early life
Menon was born in a Nair ...
), in the movie. This was a role he executed with aplomb. He also wrote the lyrics for the songs in the movie, and sung few of them as well and was also the music director of the film.[ He has acted in Rockstar alongside Ranbir Kapoor and was known as the 'Image is everything...everything is Image' guy. He acted and wrote lyrics of some songs for the movie '']Gangs of Wasseypur
''Gangs of Wasseypur'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language two-part crime film produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. Centered on the coal mafia (Mafia Raj) of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggl ...
''. His songs are very high on poetic content and have received critical appreciation from all sections of audiences and critics.
In 2014, he acted in the film '' The Shaukeens'', along with Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor
Annu Kapoor (born Anil Kapoor; 20 February 1956) is an Indian actor, singer, director, radio disc jockey, and television presenter who has appeared in over a hundred films, as well as television series. His career has spanned over 40 years as ...
, Lisa Haydon in the lead role, which had Akshay Kumar
Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...
in an extended cameo. Piyush also appeared in The Kapil Sharma Show to promote the film with Anupam Kher and Annu Kapoor. Although the film was a remake of the 1982 film '' Shaukeen
''Shaukeen'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Basu Chatterjee dealing with the psychological aspects of people reaching the dusk of their life. The movie stars Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt, A.K. Hangal, Rati Agnihotri an ...
'' directed by Basu Chatterjee
Basu Chatterjee ( bn, বাসু চ্যাটার্জ্জী; 10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, Chatterjee became associated with what came to be known as mi ...
, it was well appreciated by audience and was voted the best comedy film of 2014.
Ballimaaraan - The Piyush Mishra's Musical Project
In its pure essence, Ballimaaraan is Piyush Mishra's homage to '' Mirza Ghalib'' in musical form. They perform Piyush's songs from his theatre days and are known to do a superb rendition of ‘Aarambh Hai Pranchand’, ‘Husna’, ‘Ghar’, and ‘Ik Bagal Mein Chand’. Ballimaaraan have been performing all over India in numerous literature festivals and college concerts for the last 4 years. Their USPs are thought-provoking lyrics, catchy percussions and soul-stirring themes.
Ballimaaraan is the name of Mirza Ghalib's street in Delhi. Piyush Mishra is a big fan of his work and has spent a lot of time in Delhi and that's why he wanted to name the band Ballimaaraan. Initially they had even thought of 'Inquilab' but then decided to go for Ballimaaraan.
He used to perform these songs during his theatre days in Delhi. The songs started becoming pretty famous and it struck a chord with the youngsters. It all started because of a fanboy in Chandigarh Nishant Agarwal, who Piyush had met about 6 years ago in a literature festival singing Piyush Mishra's compositions for him. That's where the entire idea of forming a band came up and Piyush asked Nishant, the guitar player to move to Mumbai about 4 years ago to begin the journey of 'Ballimaaraan'. That's when found 'Jayant Patnaik' who handles the responsibility to the rhythm section of the band playing Tabla, Cajon, Dholak, Pakhawaj, etc. and Lubhanu Priy who plays the keyboard/piano for the band. The backbone of the band remains the manager & 'SFX Singer' Mr. Rahul Gandhi.
Personal life
He married Priya Narayanan in 1995, whom he met in 1992 while directing a play at the School of Planning and Architecture
The Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) are a group of autonomous public institutes of higher education under Ministry of Education, Government of India. They were established with the objectives of providing quality Architecture and p ...
. He lives in Goregaon
Goregaon (Help:IPA/Marathi, �oːɾeɡaːʋ is a suburb of Mumbai city, in the Mumbai Suburban district of India. It has a Goregaon railway station, railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Line (Mumbai Suburban Railwa ...
East, Mumbai with his wife, who is an architect and two sons Josh who is studying at Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Mumbai and Jai.
Filmography
Actor
Lyrics
Theatre Work
Screenplay and dialogues
* '' The Legend of Bhagat Singh'' (2002) – Dialogues
* '' Yahaan'' (2005) – Screenplay and dialogues
* ''1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
'' (2007) – Screenplay
* '' Ghajini'' (2008) – Dialogues
* ''Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...
'' (2010) – Screenplay
* ''Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
'' (2011) – Dialogues
* '' Agneepath'' (2012) – Dialogues
* '' Shamshera'' (2022) - Dialogues
* Mandi House - Screenplay and dialogues (Post Production)
* Yo Jawaan Yo Kisaan - Dialogues (Post Production)
Singer
* "Aarambh Hai Prachand" ('' Gulaal'' - 2009)
* "Duniya" ('' Gulaal'' - 2009)
* "Jab Sheher Hamara" ('' Gulaal'' - 2009)
* "Ik Bagal" (''Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
'' – 2012)
* "Ik Bagal" (''Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
'' – 2012)
* "Aabroo" (''Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
'' – 2012)
* "Manva" ('' Arjun: The Warrior Prince'' - 2012)
* "Bargat Ke Pedo Pe Shakhe Purani" ('' Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid'' – 2012)
* "Bas Chal Kapat" ('' Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns'' – 2013)
*"Chanda Ki Katori Hai (Lorie)" (''Revolver Rani
''Revolver Rani'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy drama film written and directed by Sai Kabir. Presented by Wave Cinemas, the film stars Kangana Ranaut and Vir Das, with Piyush Mishra, Zakir Hussain and Pankaj Saraswat in suppor ...
'' - 2014)
*"Chal Lade Re Bhaiya" (''Revolver Rani
''Revolver Rani'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy drama film written and directed by Sai Kabir. Presented by Wave Cinemas, the film stars Kangana Ranaut and Vir Das, with Piyush Mishra, Zakir Hussain and Pankaj Saraswat in suppor ...
'' - 2014)
*"Thaayein Kare Katta" (''Revolver Rani
''Revolver Rani'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy drama film written and directed by Sai Kabir. Presented by Wave Cinemas, the film stars Kangana Ranaut and Vir Das, with Piyush Mishra, Zakir Hussain and Pankaj Saraswat in suppor ...
'' - 2014)
* "Jigarwala Sirf Woh" ('' Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo'' (Hindi dubbed) - 2022)
Composer
* '' Gulaal (2009)''
* ''Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...
'' (2010) (Song: "Oh Re Bande")
* ''Gangs of Wasseypur
''Gangs of Wasseypur'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language two-part crime film produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap, and written by Kashyap and Zeishan Quadri. Centered on the coal mafia (Mafia Raj) of Dhanbad, and the underlying power struggl ...
'' (2012) (Songs: "Manmauji" & "Ik Bagal")
* ''Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
'' (2012) (Song: "Ik Bagal")
* '' Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid'' (2012) (Song: "Bargat Ke Pedo")
Other
* '' Bharat Ek Khoj'' (1988) (Sepoy)
* ''Husna'' Coke Studio (India) Season 2 (2012 - Composer/Singer/Lyrics/Performer)
* ''O Re Manvaa'' (My Heart) (2012 - Composer/Singer/Lyrics)
* ''Tom Dick and Harry'' ( The Dewarists) together with Akala (Composer/Singer/Lyrics)
* ''Ghar'' Coke Studio (India) Season 3 (2013 - Composer/Singer/Lyrics/Performer)
* '' Reunion'' (Google India Google Search Advertisement) (2013 - Singer)
* ''Parle-G New Ad: Roko Mat Toko Mat'' (2013 - Composer/Singer/Lyrics)
Awards
;Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way".
They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...
* 2003: Best Dialogue: '' The Legend of Bhagat Singh'' (with Ranjit Kapoor and Rajkumar Santoshi)Awards for Piyush Mishra
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...
.
;Stardust Awards
The Stardust Awards was an award ceremony for Hindi movies, which was sponsored by ''Stardust'' magazine. Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. The first ceremony was held in 2004 for films released in 2003. The ...
* 2010: Standout Performance by a Music Director
The Stardust Awards was an award ceremony for Hindi movies, which was sponsored by '' Stardust'' magazine. Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. The first ceremony was held in 2004 for films released in 2003. The ...
: '' Gulaal''
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Piyush
1963 births
Living people
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Indian male stage actors
National School of Drama alumni
Hindi-language lyricists
Indian male screenwriters
People from Gwalior
Hindi theatre
Indian male playback singers
Bollywood playback singers
Indian male singer-songwriters
Indian singer-songwriters
Singers from Madhya Pradesh
Screenwriters from Madhya Pradesh
Male actors from Madhya Pradesh
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Male actors in Marathi cinema
Indian male television actors
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Male actors in Tamil cinema