Saurabh Shukla

Shukla’s story kicks off in Gorakhpur, but Delhi quickly became his real stomping ground since his family moved there when he was still in diapers. He did the usual school grind, then wound up at Khalsa College, graduating before diving headfirst into theater in 1984. Those first gigs? Sure, they were tiny, but by 1986 he was doing legit stuff—acting in heavyweight plays like “A View From The Bridge,” “Look Back In Anger,” “Ghashiram Kotwal,” and “Hayvadan.” Not exactly kid’s play. By ’91, he’d hustled his way into the NSD Repertoire Company—the pro wing of the National School of Drama. That was kind of a big deal, honestly. Next year, his break finally came when Shekhar Kapur, apparently blown away by his chops, wrote a part just for him in “Bandit Queen.” Around the same time, he played Gopi, the loyal sidekick in “Tehkikat,” a crime series that’s still a bit of a cult thing for Doordarshan fans. Fun fact: Kapur directed the very first episode, though Karan Razdan took over after. Then came the real game-changer—Shukla co-wrote the script for Ram Gopal Varma’s “Satya” in ‘98, and played the iconic Kallu Mama. That film’s a cult legend, and he even snagged the Star Screen Award for Best Screenplay, sharing it with Anurag Kashyap. The hits kept coming: in 2003, he bagged the Zee Cine Award for Best Screenplay for “Calcutta Mail.” Fast forward to 2008, and he’s popping up in “Slumdog Millionaire” as Constable Srinivas, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood. Not bad for a theater kid from Delhi.