Danish Husain

Biography

Danish Husain is an actor, poet, storyteller, and a theatre director. He started his career in theatre with Barry John and went on to work with directors like Habib Tanvir, Rajinder Nath, M.S. Sathyu, M.K. Raina, Sunil Shanbag, Sabina Mehta Jaitly, & Naseeruddin Shah. He was instrumental in reviving the lost art form of Urdu storytelling Dastangoi. He runs his own theatre company The Hoshruba Repertory in Mumbai and his latest productions include plays Guards At The Taj (2017) and Qissa Urdu Ki Aakhiri Kitaab Ka (2017) besides the ongoing storytelling project Qissebaazi (2016), and the poetry performance project Poetrification (2016) with the fellow actor Denzil Smith. His major film work includes India's entry to Oscar 2018 - Newton (2017), Soorma (2018), Baazaar (2018), Ankhon Dekhi (2013), Dhobi Ghat (2010), and Peepli Live (2010). Danish Husain won the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Award for the Best Supporting Actor in 2008 for his portrayal of Shams Tabrezi in the play Rumi; Unveil The Sun. He also won the Sangeet Natak Akademi's (The Indian Academy for Music & Theatre) Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar for reviving the lost art form of Urdu storytelling Dastangoi in 2010 that he subsequently returned during the intolerance debate in 2015. He lives in Mumbai.