Ivan Rodrigues

Biography

Ivan Rodrigues is an accomplished and trained theatre and film actor based in Mumbai, India. Since 2013, he has acted in the following Bollywood films: ‘Satyagraha’ directed by Prakash Jha, ‘Shamitabh’ directed by R. Balki, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ directed by Zoya Akhtar, ‘Sultan’ directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, ‘Dear Zindagi’ directed by Gauri Shinde, ‘Commando 2’ directed by Deven Bhojani, ‘MOM’ directed by Ravi Udyawar, ‘Jagga Jasoos’ directed by Anurag Basu, ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, ‘Hichki’ directed by Sidharth P. Malhotra, ‘Bioscopewala’ directed by Deb Medhekar, ‘GOLD’ directed by Reema Kagti and URI:The Surgical Strike directed by Aditya Dhar. In TV he has acted in the Rajya Sabha TV mini-series ‘Samvidhaan – The Making of The Indian Constitution’, directed by Shyam Benegal. He has also featured in ‘The Good Karma Hospital – Season 2’ directed by Alex Winckler, a UK TV Series produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for ITV. In web series, he has acted in ‘What The Folks’, ‘Official CEOgiri’, ‘What’s Your Status’ and ‘Better Life Foundation – Season 2’ In theatre, it was in his final year in Sydenham College, where he won the awards for Best Play, Best Director and Best Actor for the play ‘The Chairs’ at the prestigious Dr. S. K. Muranjan intra-college competition in 1989. It was at this competition that Mr. Dandavate, who was then the Chairman of the NCPA, invited Ivan to stage ‘The Chairs’ at the Little Theatre, NCPA. The play received rave reviews in the press and here are some of them. “A difficult play to tackle even for professionals, much more so for students, Ivan Rodrigues who also directs, did well to keep the pace brisk and the action taut. So convincing was their portrayal of old age that for a moment it was a jolt to see them smiling and straight-backed offstage”. – Meher Pestonji, Sunday Mid-Day, Apr 2, 1989. “Only a brave person would have anything to do with ‘The Chairs’. Over two decades ago Vijaya Mehta presented it and now Ivan Rodrigues has brought it back. He chose the play because he found it difficult to understand at the first reading. Many rehearsals later he has put up a commendable effort. Both the actors retain the arthritic image from start to finish, drawing the viewer into the vortex of their grey life”. – Teresa Viju James, The Indian Post, Mar 29, 1989. ” ‘The Chairs’ is a play which extracts that bit of extra energy and talent from the actor. Its success depends a great deal on this aspect. In Ivan Rodrigues and Nilufer Charna, Bombay theatre has discovered two young talented actors with great potential. Both Ivan and Nilufer excelled, their voices and facial expressions picking up the cues from where the other had left, to give us phases of poetry in theatre. It only goes to prove that nothing can replace genuine talent”. – Suma Josson, The Sunday Observer, Apr 2 to 8, 1989. Since then Ivan has acted in several professional productions and has performed at venues all over India. Some of these include: ‘The Fantasticks’, a musical play (music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones) directed by Janak Toprani and Nandu Bhende, ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ (Samuel Beckett) directed by Ramu Ramanathan, ‘In The Matter Of J. Robert Oppenheimer’ (Hinar Kipphart) directed by Janak Toprani, ‘The Public Eye’ (Peter Shaffer) directed by Janak Toprani, ‘Final Solutions’, written and directed by Mahesh Dattani, ‘Animal Farm’ (George Orwell), a musical play directed by Arundhati Raja, ‘Holy River’ (an Indo-British production), directed by Etienne Coutinho and ‘The Big Fat City’, written and directed by Mahesh Dattani. He is also the writer and director of AGP World’s play ‘The Scent Of A Man’. He has also worked with young directors on experimental plays – like ‘The Date(d)’ and ‘Do You, I Do’. Over the years, his acting has been much appreciated by audiences and critics alike. Here are some excerpts from the press. “Apart from the adaptation, the high point of the production is the sound effects, both on and off the stage. Offstage you hear a bottle corking, liquid poured, the clink of crockery and the wheezing of a man in a hurry to get his drink. Ivan Rodrigues makes an excellent elder Krapp with shuffling feet, sharp bark like cries and semi-silent chuckles, enslaved to the clanging alarm clock slung around his neck”. Review of ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ by Meher Pestonji in the MID-DAY dated Aug 4, 1989. “The highlight of the evening was Ivan Rodrigues’ remarkable performance as the old Krapp. Slow and deliberate, never letting his concentration slip, perfectly in character whether excited or vacant, he breathes life into the play”. – Review of ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ by Kamala Ramchandani in The Indian Post dated Nov 22, 1989. “Krapp played by Ivan Rodrigues touches the heart. The director does not see him as a comical figure but a futuristic one; spools of tape hanging out of the innards of his tape deck, the floor strewn with debris, the lights low in this each-man-for-himself world. Rodrigues has all the decrepitude of Krapp, shuffling and enfeebled, body racked by paroxysms of pain brought on by recalling the past, yet not without an ability to laugh manically at himself”. Review of ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ by Nandini Bhaskaran in The Independent dated Nov 17, 1989. He is also a Voice Over artist and has lent his voice to several TVCs and corporate presentations. Ivan is also a professional compere. His previous background as a senior management professional with experience across industry sectors and business verticals helps bring to the table a keen insight into the pulse of the audience and the profiled speakers and dignitaries. This along with his ability to keep proceedings on track and to time with a unique blend of information and humor has made him the preferred MC of choice for organizations such as Times Conferences (ET Edge), Dun & Bradstreet, Bloomberg, UBM & EC Council. Ivan regularly conducts speech and drama workshops for school children and corporates. He has also featured in 100+ TVCs and print shoots.