Kashi Kumar Dubey

Biography: Kashi Kumar Dubey is an Indian actor, writer, theatre educator, and content creator whose work across film, stage, and digital media has received international recognition for its political sharpness and cultural specificity. With over 11 years of rigorous theatre practice, his screen work is marked by grounded performances rooted in lived realities and strong character authorship. He plays the lead role in the feature film Ustaad Bantoo (2025), set to premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in February 2026. Portraying Bantoo, a wedding band player from Delhi’s Tagore Garden, Dubey anchors the film’s exploration of class aspiration, artistic survival, and urban precarity. He also stars in the lead role of Shoaib Ansari in Carburetor (upcoming)—one of India’s first found-footage style series—playing a Delhi Police stenographer and vlogger in a project that blends satire with radical realism. Carburetor and another feature film are slated for release in 2026. His short film Kripamanch (2023) was showcased at the Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes, gaining international visibility for its bold political critique of power, moral policing, and majoritarian violence. His other short films include Sab Changa C (2022) and Kaki (2018), an adaptation of Premchand’s classic, where he portrayed the father with emotional restraint and generational tension. Dubey’s theatre practice includes significant performances in Metamorphosis (2020), 21st Century (2019)—a self-written work on conformity and individuality—and An Enemy of the People (2018). During his time at the University of Delhi, he was an active member of Shunya, the dramatics society of Ramjas College, where his training was shaped by ensemble-driven processes, text-based performance, and sustained repertory work. Beyond performance, he is the founder of Charche—an independent, artist-led space centred on dialogue, reading, rehearsal laboratories, and collective inquiry across theatre, cinema, and performance pedagogy. Conceived as a cultural commons rather than a production house, Charche focuses on process over product, fostering non-hierarchical learning environments, mentorship for emerging performers, and community-driven artistic exchange outside institutional frameworks. He is also the creator of PEENKODE, a growing digital platform known for multi-character performances and sharp socio-cultural commentary, structured around satire (Khabar), character work (Kirdaar), and narrative memory (Kissey). Across mediums, Dubey’s practice reflects a sustained engagement with form, politics, and the everyday textures of contemporary India.