Saran Jith

An actor, painter, musician and trainer, Saran Jith graduated from Intercultural Theatre Institute in 2017. He is a certified lecturer who holds an MA and MPhil in Theatre Arts, and a bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts, with a focus on painting and sculpture. He has acted in more than 50 productions in national and international theatre festivals. Notably, he has worked on several projects commissioned by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy and Kerala Lalithakala Academy. A trained Mizhavu percussionist under the tutelage of Guru Kalamandalam VKK Hariharan, Saran has also worked as a musician accompanying classical dancers in India and elsewhere. 

In Singapore, Saran has collaborated with companies such as Chowk Productions, SRI Initiatives, Singapore Kairalee Kalnilaya and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay’s Dan:s Festival as a set designer, musician, and performer. He has also created his own production based on Basa’s Urubhangam and Abhishekanadakam.

After ITI, Saran joined Indianostrum Théâtre, a theatre company based in Pondicherry. His performance in Chandala: Impure (an Indian adaptation of Romeo & Juliet), created in collaboration with Théâtre du Soleil, toured to Paris (Francophone Youth Theatre Festival, Théâtre du Soleil), Tunisia (Carthage Days Festival), Belgium (Théâtre 140) and Delhi (META Awards and Theatre Festival). His screen credits include DOTS (Kathaah Productions) and Nalpathiyonnu (41) (Signature Studios), for which Saran received honours for at the JC Daniel Kalashreshta Awards (JC Daniel Foundation). He is currently working on Idi Mazha Kattu, a film directed by Ambili S Rengan, and a new project with Indianostrum Théâtre.

Saran plans to continue his academic studies with a PhD in Theatre in India, while training people and performing with other practitioners. 

Read his Q&A here 

Recent works:  
1. Actor, Flying Chariot(s) (2021, Indianostrum Théâtre / Théâtre du Soleil; Paris) 
2. Actor, Flying Chariot(s) (2021, Indianostrum Théâtre / Les Francophonies - Des écritures à la scène; Union Theater, Limoges) 
3. Instructor, The Art of Acting (performance-oriented acting workshop) (2021, Indianostrum Théâtre; Indianostrum Open Theatre School) 
4. Actor, Two Dying Scenes (Dwau Anthyarangau) (2021, Indianostrum Théâtre)

Recent awards: 
1. JC Daniel Kalasreshta Awards (by JC Daniel Foundation) for Nalpathiyonnu (41) (2020, India) 

Recent nominations: 
1. Best Debutant Actor (Malayalam), South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) 2019 for Nalpathiyonnu (41) (2021, India)

Last updated: 19 January 2022