Kenneth Desai

Visiting Faculty

Kenneth Desai has been teaching acting at Whistling Woods International since its inception in 2006 as a part of the original core team formed by Naseeruddin Shah. He has also been a visiting faculty at the FTII and the Stardust Academy.

Kenneth Desai has an acting career spanning over four decades and he’s been an acting coach for the last 15 years as well. He’s an alumnus of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, from where he graduated with a degree in English Literature and Psychology and the National School of Drama where he finished as class Valedictorian. He has been working on the Mumbai stage since 1980 and also across different mediums like film, OTT, television and as a voice artist. He teamed up with Whistling Woods International’s alumnus Abhishek Jain for the acclaimed Gujarati film, Kevi Rite Jaish (2012) which earned him the award of Best Actor in a Supporting role, conferred by the Government of Gujarat. Other significant works of his include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Munnabhai M.B.B.S (2003), Mother Teresa of Calcutta (2003), Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014), Raag Desh (2017) and Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020) to name a few. He has been part of international projects on stage and on screen and has worked in multiple languages. He’s been associated with Naseeruddin Shah’s theatre group Motley since 1981.

Ashok Kumar

Visiting Faculty

Ashok Kumar studied Acting at the National School of Drama, Delhi. Founder of Actoghraphers, theatre organization active in India, he has been involved in the productions of plays and conducting workshops from 2014 till 2020. He conducted numerous Performance Oriented Workshops and also wrote the play Mirage. He has been the associate director for plays such as King Lear and Romeo and Juliet in the National School of Drama, while he also taught Physical Theatre. He also acted in Bose: Dead or Alive, a web series on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He has done extensive research on different acting styles and schools of thought during and after graduating from the National School of Drama. Ashok has also taught and practiced ‘Konstantin Stanislavski’, ‘Stella Adler’, ‘Lee Strasberg’ techniques of acting. His international collaborations include, co-directing the play Tum Kaun at the NAPA International Theater festival, participated and performed in the Asian Theatre Festival conducted in Beijing, China in 2012, and performed as an actor and Assistant Director of the play Raddi Bazaar at the NAPA International Theater festival conducted in Karachi, Pakistan.

Dipika Pandey

Visiting Faculty

Dipika Pandey is a trained Kalaripayattu martial artist, actor and Salsa dancer. She has been performing, training, and teaching for many years now. Her mentors in physical and psychophysical theatre have been Abani Biswas (founder and director of Theatre house, Shantiniketan) and John Britton (director of Duende school of arts), to name a few. As an artist, she aims to incorporate the understanding and awareness of the performer’s body into storytelling. She has directed a few movements based plays as well. Her last project as a Kalaripayattu and movement artist was a collaborative production of the US consulate and University of Florida.

Vandana Trivedi

Visiting Faculty

Vandana Trivedi is a Wellness coach and owner of YOGVAN FOR HEALTH & HAPPINESS ®, an organization that is committed to extending holistic health and happiness. She was initiated into Yoga at a very early age at The Yoga Institute, which is more than a century old, and in the very heart of Mumbai. Her mentors Dr Jaydeva and Hansa Jaydeva Yogendra are her inspiration to offer Classical Yoga as a lifestyle rather than just a form of exercise. It is this education that is being extended to the students at Whistling Woods International.

Now for more than two decades, Vandana has been teaching & spreading the goodness of Yoga through versatile platforms, workshops and retreats and has had the opportunity to see lives being transformed in amazing ways. She has taught people of all ages, backgrounds, and to people from all over the world.

She regularly conducts workshops for expecting and aspiring parents through her programme called Enlightened Pregnancy and Parenthood which helps parents to nurture their child’s inherent genius, vision, and intuition with help of holistic, scientific and traditional approach.

Vandana was on the panel of Yoga examiners of TQcert, an organisation which certifies Yoga teachers-to-be. She has majored in MA Philosophy and has also released 2 Yoga DVD’s, ‘YOGVAN for EVERYONE’ and ‘YOGVAN for PRENATAL CARE.’