Theatre Personalities of Rajasthan :

Theatre Personalities of Rajasthan are the connoisseurs of folk culture and West Indian literature.Theatre Personalities of Rajasthan has been creating an aura of innovation and creativity, well blended with cultural facets of the state to form their very own Rajasthani theatre. Rajasthani language was spoken in the northwestern state of Rajasthan and the theatre personalities of Rajasthan exploited every accent of this sweet language to perform their plays. 

Mohan Singh Maharishi : Mohan Singh Maharishi was a Hindi director. Mohan Singh Maharishi was a Hindi director. He was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan in 1940. He started his career in 1955 as a radio performer with Akashvani, Jaipur. He soon became one of the foremost actors in Jaipur, receiving awards at youth festivals.
A founder member of the important Hindi theatre group Dishantar in 1967, he left soon after its inaugural production of Badal Sircar's Evam Indrajit, which received notice at the national level but got caught up in controversy because he changed the ending. He started Sanket in Jaipur and its debut, Gyandev Agnihotri's Shuturmurg i.e. 'Ostrich' in 1968 also raised protests. Its performance stopped in Delhi due to its political slant. He joined the national television network, Doordarshan, in Delhi as producer in 1971. After that he went to Mauritius in 1973 for six years as cultural advisor to the Mauritius government. He initiated a youth theatre movement there in Indian languages and produced Dharamvir Bharati's Andha yug in 1975 with Hindi-speaking people. He also visited Europe and was exposed to Brechtian theatre at the Berliner Ensemble. 

Harigovind Sharma : Harigovind Sharma is a Raslila performer. Harigovind Sharma is a great Rasalila performer. He was born in a Rasdhari family in Bharatpur, Rajasthan in 1926. Harigovind Sharma was gifted with talent in acting and singing. He started performing from the age of 8. His portrayal of the child Krishna made him very famous. He studied under Swami Udayram, Gwaria Baba, and Swami Kishanlal in Vrindavan, Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh. He also pioneered a new Lila on the medieval saint Chaitanya. It was composed in Brajbhasha dialect. He toured all over India and is respected for his faithful yet innovative presentation of the Ras tradition in a popular manner. 

Ugamraj Khilari : Ugamraj Khilari is a noted female impersonator in Rajasthani Khyal.Ugamraj Khilari is a renowned female impersonator in Rajasthani Khyal who was born in 1932. Belonging to a farmer family of Merta Road, Nagaur district, he displayed singing and dancing skills as a boy, which led to training with the Khyal expert Bhanwarlal Sharma. He started a professional career as early as the 1940s and eventually became the most sought-after female impersonator in Khyal, known for heroines' roles in Harishchandra, Gog Chauhan, Bhakt Puran Chand i.e. 'Turan Chand the Devotee', Dhola-Maru i.e. 'Dhola and Maru', and Amar Singh Rathor. Ugamraj Khilari was mainly an exponent of the Kuchamani School developed by Lacchiram. He absorbed much from other Rajasthani folk forms too, as a result of which he has an independent style of song and dance. His company tours regularly in and outside Rajasthan. 

Usha Ganguli : Usha Ganguly is a prominent Hindi actress, and director. Usha Ganguly was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in the year in 1945. As a child she learnt Bharatanatyam dance. Completing a master's degree in Hindi literature, she started teaching at Bhowanipur Education Society College, Calcutta, in 1970. In the same year, she began acting with Sangit Kala Mandir and later studied theatre under Tripti Mitra. She formed a group, Rangakarmee, in 1976, and decided to direct its shows. Her energetic style and disciplined ensemble work with young, large casts spearheaded a resurgence of Hindi theatre in Calcutta. Her important productions include Mannu Bhandari's Mahabhoj i.e. 'Great Feast' in 1984, Ratnakar Matkari's Lokkatha i.e. 'Folktale' in 1987, Mahesh Elkunchwar's Holi in 1989, and Rudali in 1992, which she dramatized from Mahasweta Devi's story. She also translates and adapts plays into Hindi. Rangakarmee regularly takes its repertoire on tours across India and undertakes extension activities in theatre with underprivileged people.

Giriraj Prasad : Giriraj Prasad was a Nautanki performer. Giriraj Prasad was a renowned Nautanki performer. He was born in Kama village, Bharatpur district (Rajasthan) in 1920. Giriraj Prasad learnt Nautanki in the Hathras gharana from Giriraj Prasad Parashar and Natharam Gaud. At the age of 16 he joined Gaud's company as a professional. 

Giriraj Prasad's training in folk and classical music and an unusual mixture of strength and sweetness in his voice made him gain eminence. Unmatched in lavani singing, he also has a distinctive style of rendering the chaubola metre, imitated by younger performers. He made efforts to revive and vitalize the form, and became director of a troupe set up by the Braj Kala Kendra at Hathras. Giriraj Prasad also participated in the Nautanki-based production of Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena's Bakri or 'She-goat' in 1973 at the National School of Drama. 

Pukhraj Gaud : Pukhraj Gaud was a popular contemporary actor of Kuchamani Khyal. Pukhraj Gaud was born in a family of traditional performers in Pipar, Jodhpur district. He trained under the eminent guru, Bhanwarlal Sharma, and began acting professionally while still young. He specializes as a clown, and in his long career has enthralled huge audiences in Rajasthan as well as the rest of India. Theatre directors and researchers have documented many of his performances. 

                  Rajasthani theatre did not develop any theatrical traditions apart from folk styles away from the courts, such as Khyal, Tamasha, or Rasdhari, and puppetry famous as Kathputli. Only as late as 1900, theatre personalities of Rajasthan came into proper recognition under the influence of Parsi theatre. The beginning of the twentieth century brought in the era of social reforms and the national movement in the nation and the theatre personalities of Rajasthan took up many such themes for their plays. Many social and historical plays written for the Parsi theatre became very popular after the performance of the theatre personalities of Rajasthan. The theatre personalities of Rajasthan took theatre as a powerful weapon of propaganda against social and political evils.