From Broadway to Bollywood: Chai with Ankur Rathee

Ankur Rathee is an Indian-American actor and dancer best known for his roles in the Amazon Prime series Four More Shots Please (2019), Zoya Akhtar's Made in Heaven (2019), the Hindi films Thappad (2020) and The Tashkent Files (2019) opposite Naseeruddin Shah, and as a finalist on Dance India Dance (2013).He graduated from Princeton University where he trained under artists like Tony Award winner John Rando, Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman, and Academy Award nominee Christina Lazaridi. He also briefly studied filmmaking at USC School of Cinematic Arts.After moving to New York City, he continued his training with Alice Spivak in the Stanislavsky Technique and began doing off-Broadway theater. His notable performances include "Jade Emperor" in the martial arts opera "Journey Beyond the West", an Iraqi soldier in "Between the Tigris and the Euphrates", and an ancient Cordoba poet in "My Heart is in the East" at the historic LaMaMa Theater.In 2018 he found his way back to the stage as the lead in Ila Arun and K.K. Raina's rendition of "Baby's Blues".Ankur began training as dancer at the age of 8 in styles including Bollywood, hip-hop, contemporary, jazz, and acrobatic adage. He discovered his passion for singing and acting in his teens through musical theater. In 2015 he became a dance faculty member at "Steps on Broadway".