Mita Vashisht

Mita Vashisht was born on 2 November 1967[1] in Pune, Maharashtra, India to Captain Rajeshwar Dutt Vashisht, who retired as a colonel from the Indian Army and Meenakshi Mehta (née) Vashisht, a teacher and a singer (Indian Classical).

She has done her post-graduation in literature from Punjab University, Chandigarh and graduated from the National School of Drama (Delhi) in 1987,[3] Vashisht was for several years (1990–2010) 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.[4] She is married to filmmaker Anup Singh.

Vashisht has played the lead roles in the avant-garde cinemas (notably Kumar Shahani and Mani Kaul films), the middle of the road cinemas (Notably Govind Nihalani's films) as well as in successful big budget Bollywood films. She has worked in theatre as actress and director too. She researches and writes her 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.[5][6]

Vashisht has written and produced three short films, as well as a serial for television. She was the executive producer of the 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. In wanting to mainstream the marginalized she created a theatre troupe of the trafficked young women who performed the comedy play 'the coffin is too big for the grave' to national and international audiences and at international theatre festivals).[7]

Key

Music videos and Singing

• 2000: Featured in the main lead in Mann ke Manjeeré.
• 2007: Sung the vocals with Shubha Mudgal for the theme song Laaga Chunari Mein Daag for Yash Raj Films.

• 2005: OSIAN'S CINEFAN International Film Festival, Delhi. Jury member for Indian Feature Films.
• 2008: Tenth MAMI International Film Festival, Mumbai. Jury Member for Dimensions India (Documentary films).
• 2008: Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) Jury member for Short films.

• 1996: Won, Star Screen Award, for Best Supporting Actress Drohkaal
• 1990: Won, BFJA Awards Bengal Film Journalist Award, Best supporting Actress Drishti
• 2019 :Won, Moonwhite Films International Film Fest (MWFIFF) Best Actress Supporting Role Mita Vasisht (Gulabi) Kasaai (The Devil) [11]
• 2022 : Filmfare OTT Awards

Best Supporting Actress in a Web original film - Chhorii.

• Official website
• Mita Vasisht at IMDb
• A non-conforming artiste – The Tribune, 2002