Manav Kaul (born 19 December 1976) is an Indian theatre director, playwright, author, actor and filmmaker. He won the Filmfare OTT Award 2023 for Best Actor for the short film Phir Kabhi apart from being nominated for the same award in 2024 (Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper) and 2021 (Ajeeb Daastaans). He was also nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the films Tumhari Sulu (2017) and Saina (2021).
Early life
Kaul was born on 19 December 1976 in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, India, into a Kashmiri Pandit family. He studied till the 4th standard in Baramulla, before his family moved to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
He was a competitive swimmer in his late teenage years and participated in state and national levels championships. He won 14 national medals in swimming.
Theatre
Kaul started a theatre group named Aranya in 2004. He was influenced by Charles Bukowski, Vinod Kumar Shukla, and Nirmal Verma, to whom he paid homage in his 2010 play Red Sparrow.
He has written and directed 13 plays. Among his notable plays are Ilhaam, Park and Shakkar Ke Paanch Daane (transl. Five grains of sugar), the last one being his first work as playwright and director.
In 2004, Kaul staged Shakkar Ke Paanch Daane, a dramatic monologue in Hindi about a small-towner whose "structured middle-India existence begins to feel suspiciously like a lie." It featured actor Kumud Mishra, who was to become his longtime collaborator. The Mumbai Theatre Guide wrote, "the final poetic denouement is neat, funny, reflective but unfortunately all too expected, all too perfect." The play was a stage hit and was performed in English in 2009, from a translation by Arshia Sattar.
In his next play, Peele Scooter Wala Aadmi Kaul explored a father-son relationship in an open-ended narrative, and adopted a style of poetic dialogue similar to that employed by Vinod Kumar Shukla and Nirmal Verma. It won him a Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Award (META) for Best Script in 2006.
In 2006, moving away from internal monologues, Kaul staged a bitter-sweet meditation on old age called Bali aur Shambhu, featuring Sudhir Pandey and Mishra. The Times of India found it "not as philosophical as Shakkar Ke Paanch Daane, yet, it's a story that tugs at your heartstrings and has its moments," while the Mumbai Theatre Guide described it as "one of those plays that appeal to the senses but not to the intellect." Said Kaul, "I wrote the play after I visited an old-age home. I wanted to show that people in old-age homes also have fun."
In 2009, Kaul directed Ranga Shankara's Hindi adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's Huis Clos, with The Hindu describing his "treatment of non-verbal, physical expression" as impressive.
Set in 1994, Chuhal, written by Kaul talks about in love, relationships and marriages set in pre-technology times, and has toured in Zee Theater in Mumbai and Delhi, by Theatrenama in Bangalore, and more than one in Hyderabad, once at Ravindra Bharathi and another time at Rangbhoomi Spaces by KissaGo Theatre Group.
Cinema
In 2012, Kaul debuted as a film director with Hansa for which he also wrote the screenplay. He made his acting debut in Hindi cinema with fantasy film Jajantaram Mamantaram in 2003, and has been lauded for his performance as a right-wing politician in the Gujarat-based Hindi drama Kai Po Che! in 2013.
Writing
Kaul is a writer who writes on themes of isolation, nostalgia, rootlessness and existentialism etc. Some of his notable books include Chalta Phirta Pret, Antima, Bahut Door Kitna Door Hota hai, Theek Tumhare Peeche. Kaul's recently published novel Rooh explores his journey back to his lost motherland, Kashmir.
Filmography
All films and shows in Hindi unless otherwise stated.
Theatre
Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Award for Best Script, 2006.
Hindustan Times Mumbai's Most Stylish Theatre Personality Award, 2017.
Bibliography
Kaul's works are:
Theek Tumhare Peeche transl. 'Right Behind You' (14 March 2016): Short story collection.
Prem Kabootar transl. 'Love Dove' (8 February 2017): Short story collection. English translation: A Night in the Hills, (2019)
Tumhare Baare Mein transl. 'About You' (5 December 2018): English translation: A bird on my window sill (2023).
Bahut Door, Kitna Door Hota Hai transl. 'How Far is Farther' (7 November 2019): Travelogue English translation: A Mountain, A Lake and A Song
Chalta Phirta Pret transl. 'Wandering Specter' (10 July 2020): Short story collection
Antima (18 December 2020): Novel English translation: Under The Night Jasmine (2024)
Karta Ne Karm Se transl. 'The Doer through the Deed' (10 August 2021): Poetry collection
Shirt Ka Teesra Button transl. 'The Third Button of the Shirt' (30 March 2022): Novel
Rooh (7 June 2022): Travelogue. English translation: Rooh (2023).
Titali (17 January 2023): Novel
Tooti Hui Bikhri Hui (1 August 2023): Novel
Patjhad (23 November 2023): Novel
Katranein (29 May 2024): Neither story nor poetry.
Sakshatkaar (10 October 2024): Novel
Sanyam (18 July 2025): Novel
Nastik Ki Prarthana (May 2026): Poetry collection
Manav Kaul at Bollywood Hungama
Manav Kaul at Indiancine.ma