Naren Weiss

Naren Weiss is a playwright and stage actor from India. He is best known for his portrayal of Osama bin Laden in Kamal Haasan's film on terrorism, Vishwaroopam.^[1]

Early life

Naren Weiss was born and brought up in Texas, and then grew up in Chennai, India.^[2] There, he attended Abacus Montessori School, The School Krishnamurti foundation of India (KFI) and later, Madras Christian College.^[3] At Madras Christian College he was a major part of their cultural competitive team.^[4] While in college, he hosted a television show, "UFX Magazine" on Channel UFX.^[5][6] He then received his masters degree from Brooklyn College.^[7]

Career

Writing

Weiss co-wrote his first play, The Caesarians, in 2010. He followed this up with Vigilante vs. Vigilante, which was later adapted into a short film.^[8] The play premiered in Chennai.^[9] In 2011, he wrote Hallway Chronicles which was staged in Guwahati.^[10]

In 2012, he adapted independent musician Sidd Coutto's blog work for the stage as a play entitled The Horizon.^[11] The New Indian Express called it "a poetic account of the failing spirit of the Indie music industry."^[12]

In 2013, he wrote Kolaikaran Pettai and a surreal adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. The former was presented as a staged reading while Sherlock Holmes was performed in Kozhikode.^[13] Later that year, Weiss found more mainstream success as a playwright. He wrote Maya from Madurai which premiered at the Short and Sweet festival in Chennai.^[9][12][12] South Indian theatre company Stray Factory then toured the country with the one act play, as a part of The Park's New Festival.^[14][15]

He followed this up with Bollywood Kee-Maa, a play he co-wrote with four others including Sunil Vishnu. The play premiered at the prestigious Metroplus Theatre Festival in 2013.^[9] The play celebrated 100 years of Indian cinema and paid comical tribute to Bollywood. It opened to full houses as a part of the festival and, after its success in India, premiered in Singapore at the end of 2013.^[16]

In 2014, Weiss wrote Censored for World Theatre Day Chennai.^[17] He followed this up with The Abridged History of Modern Day India, which premiered at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.^[18][19] He then wrote Sahithya, which again premiered at the Short and Sweet festival in Chennai.^[20][21]

Apart from writing plays, he has written a number of theatrical sketches for Stray Factory, which have been performed throughout India as well as in Singapore.^[22]

Acting

Weiss began his stage career in pantomimes by The Little Theatre. He performed with them from 2009 to 2012 in such productions as Shylock: Merchant or Menace, Rip Van Wrinkle, and The Free Musketeers.^{[9][23][24][9]}

He performed widely in India for several years, with troupes primarily based in southern India. For his work, the Indian media has called him everything from "an unsung hero" to "annoying perfection."^{[12][24][25][26][27][28][9]}

In 2014, Weiss performed in the United States. He was seen in the premiere of his own The Abridged History of Modern Day India in Los Angeles, and then in the premiere of Meron Langsner's Over Here in New York City. For his portrayal of Gilad, an Israeli immigrant in America, he received praise from critics and press.^{[29][30][31][32]} In their own critical response to the production and its performances, Talking Broadway set his performance apart, stating, "Weiss, however, wields a darker, more mysterious quality that hints Gilad is never entirely on the level, and that adds some fascinating layers of possibility to a man who outwardly seems little more than afraid."^[33]

In addition to stage work, he has been seen in the independent Indian film Good Night Good Morning, and the Bollywood film Vishwaroopam.

Work

Plays

• The Caesarians (co-writer), 2010
• Vigilante vs. Vigilante, 2010
• Hallway Chronicles, 2011
• The Horizon, 2012
• Kolaikaran Pettai, 2013
• Sherlock Holmes, 2013
• Maya from Madurai, 2013
• Bollywood Kee-Maa (co-writer), 2013
• Where are we Even Going?, 2013
• Censored, 2014
• The Abridged History of Modern Day India, 2014
• Sahithya, 2014

Films

• Good Night Good Morning
• Vishwaroopam

References